Skydance announces seven executive exits and four regional TV leads

Skydance is reorganizing its television and streaming leadership after the October 2026 merger of Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount. In an 29 October 2026 staff memo published by Variety, JB Perrette named seven executives leaving the combined company: Dan Barnes, Michael Bishara, Jamie Cooke, Domenic DiMeglio, Marco Nobili, Pank Patel and Juan Sola. He also named four regional leaders reporting to him across TV and streaming: interim Europe and Africa head Andrew Georgiou, Asia Pacific and Middle East and North Africa head James Gibbons, Poland head Kasia Kieli, and Latin America and US Hispanic head Fernando Medin.

Perrette is co-chair and chief business officer of Skydance TV and Skydance Direct-to-Consumer, its business serving viewers directly through streaming. He oversees international operations and previously led global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery. He said the structure is meant to combine regional knowledge with global teams as TV and streaming operations become more closely connected.

Perrette said the arrangement aims to capture strategic and financial opportunities between TV and streaming. He said trade-offs should be decided transparently and using data, in the interests of Skydance as a whole rather than individual units or countries.

Latest · 31 October 2026

Skydance’s chief communications officer has announced seven departures from the communications team in a staff memo published by Variety, separate from the seven TV and streaming executive exits previously announced. The memo also names four direct reports overseeing corporate, executive and strategic communications; corporate communications and media relations; global and executive events; and corporate social responsibility. It introduces a Direct to Market function that the communications chief says will expand executive storytelling across the company’s owned-and-operated platforms and identify new channels and formats to reach audiences directly.

Who is leaving

Barnes led global advertising revenue for HBO Max. Bishara ran Warner Bros. Discovery’s global streaming and digital studios, Cooke managed its Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, Turkey and Africa region, and Sola led its Latin American streaming business. On the Paramount side, DiMeglio led streaming marketing and data, Nobili managed Paramount+ internationally, and Patel led international media networks.

Efrain Miron, Paramount’s direct-to-consumer content strategy and licensing chief, is leaving his current post to explore other roles within Skydance, Perrette said. That is different from the announced company exits.

How the global teams will report

The new assignments join Perrette’s previously announced direct reports: Jay Askanasi for advertising, Ray Hopkins for distribution and David Decker for content sales. Jeff Cusson leads communications for the streaming services and reports jointly to Perrette, a leader the memo calls Casey, and Skydance communications chief Mel Zukerman. International communications staff report directly into Cusson’s team while remaining on their country leaders’ teams through a secondary, or “dotted-line,” relationship.

Shauna Spenley’s marketing role expands from global direct-to-consumer operations to international TV. Working with Perrette and George Cheeks, she will directly oversee international streaming and TV marketing teams, including teams previously led by Sola and DiMeglio. Local marketing staff retain a secondary relationship with country management, while Spenley has one with Skydance marketing chief Rebecca Mall.

Trey Turner becomes international chief operating officer alongside his finance duties and reports to Perrette; Patel’s strategy team moves into Turner’s organization. Josh Walker becomes direct-to-consumer chief operating officer, reporting to Perrette and supporting Casey. Walker also serves as that business’s chief financial officer, reporting in that capacity to Skydance finance chief Dennis Cinelli. His operating remit includes business and content planning, acquisitions and pricing; most of Bishara’s team moves to him. Liz Wright becomes finance chief for Skydance’s TV segment, including CBS and global television networks. She reports to Cinelli and works with Perrette and Cheeks.

Regional oversight and a production transfer

The regional leaders oversee distribution, advertising sales, commercial development and TV programming in their markets, working with the global teams. Georgiou will manage Europe and Africa during a transition and help Perrette find a replacement before taking a role outside the company in 2027, Perrette said. Georgiou’s team includes Alessandro Araimo, whose Italy, Spain and France remit adds Turkey and Africa; Qaisar Rafique, who oversees European distribution and business development and Central and Eastern Europe except Poland; Reemah Sakaan, who takes charge of UK and Ireland entertainment alongside her existing Channel 5 role; and Christina Sulebakk, who continues to oversee the Nordics, Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Another change moves Warner Bros. International TV Production under Skydance TV Studios. Its president, Ronald Goes, will report to Warner Bros. Television Group chief Channing Dungey rather than Gerhard Zeiler, the former Warner Bros. Discovery international president. The division operates about 20 production companies worldwide, including companies that make local versions of TV formats. Before the merger, Warner Bros. Discovery’s proposed split had instead placed it in the planned Discovery Global business, away from studios and streaming, Deadline said.

What remains to be decided

Perrette said Skydance will consider internal and external candidates to lead Pluto TV and its advertising-supported streaming business. Until it appoints a leader, that team reports to Walker and Perrette. The memo gives no appointment date.

Perrette said the newly named leaders will work through their own team structures. He expects further changes within subteams and said the company will clarify how regional and global leaders work together in the coming weeks.