Skydance Names New Distribution Leads and Sends Eight Executives Out After Warner Bros. Merger

Skydance has reorganised the distribution division of its combined Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery business, naming two executives to lead it and confirming that eight others are leaving. Distribution president Ray Hopkins set out the changes in a memo to staff on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, Reuters reported.

The announcement comes days before a Nov. 8 deadline for employees to choose between a return to the office five days a week or a buyout.

Who leads distribution, and who is leaving

Sarah Bergman, formerly executive vice president of networks and streaming distribution at Warner Bros. Discovery, and Mickey Carter, formerly executive vice president of U.S. distribution at Paramount, will lead the combined business, according to Reuters. Storyboard18 reports that they will share responsibility for negotiating distribution agreements and managing partnerships as executive vice presidents of distribution.

Storyboard18 lists seven other executives in key roles across the combined business: Brad Shipley in business development and strategy, Patrick Cavanaugh in distribution finance, Joe Bahr in partner operations, Andrew Borak in distribution marketing, and Rick Baker in business and legal affairs across linear and streaming distribution.

Two further appointments cover the CBS station relationships. Bob Aguanno manages relationships with CBS affiliate stations, and John Bagwell negotiates contracts with station groups and the CBS Network affiliate board, per Storyboard18.

Four of the eight departing executives come from each legacy company. From Warner Bros. Discovery, Reuters names Rivka Golomb, Kelly Kane, Jeff Cross and Rich Palermo. From Paramount, it names David Comisar, Kurt Davis, Deena Demasi and Ken Kay.

Storyboard18 gives the Warner Bros. Discovery titles: Golomb led distribution strategy and finance, Kane was senior vice president of partner marketing, and Palermo was executive vice president of network and streaming distribution.

Cross, an executive vice president of legal, distribution and commercial partnerships, will leave that role but stay on as a senior adviser to the distribution business, per Reuters. Baker, a Paramount executive vice president and deputy general counsel for distribution business and legal affairs, takes over Cross’s legal and commercial responsibilities.

The numbers
Eight executives are departing, four from each legacy company, while two named leaders take over distribution, per Reuters. The buyout offer closes at 8 p.m. PT on Nov. 8, per Entrepreneur.

Why the distribution unit matters

Distribution manages carriage and commercial agreements. Storyboard18 reports that the division manages carriage and commercial agreements across CBS-owned television stations, 55 basic cable networks, and the Paramount+, HBO Max, Discovery+ and Pluto TV services.

It also covers more than 100 free ad-supported streaming television channels, known as FAST channels, according to Storyboard18. Shipley’s remit includes Pluto TV and FAST distribution, along with growth partnerships and advanced advertising partnerships.

The reorganisation sits inside a large integration. Storyboard18 puts the acquisition value at $111 billion, while Reuters describes a $110 billion takeover. Both outlets cite combined debt of roughly $80 billion and targeted savings of at least $6 billion.

Reuters, using 2025 annual filings from Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, says the combined company has about 53,000 employees. It adds that shares were down marginally in extended trading on Tuesday and have fallen about 27% so far this year.

The distribution exits are not the only ones. Storyboard18 reports that an internal letter names seven communications executives leaving, six from Warner Bros. Discovery and one, Karen Shosfy, from Paramount.

Buyout offer and the Nov. 8 deadline

Separately, employees at the combined company face a choice. Entrepreneur, citing Business Insider, reported on Oct. 28 that staff must soon work in person full time or take a buyout. No start date was given beyond “soon.”

Warner Bros. Discovery employees had been in the office at least three days a week, Entrepreneur reported, so the change is a bigger shift for them. Paramount staff assigned to an office have worked five days a week since earlier this year.

The buyout is a standard package of two weeks’ severance for each year worked at Paramount or Warner Bros. Discovery, according to two people familiar with the offer cited in that report. The deadline is 8 p.m. PT on Nov. 8.

Human resources describes the buyout as a one-time offer and says no further programs are planned, Entrepreneur reported. In an email to staff, HR said that as teams combine, “not everyone will see their future here.”

Storyboard18 says further workforce reductions are expected as the two businesses integrate.

Not everyone will see their future here.

What happens next

The new distribution leaders will work on the structure of their organisations in the coming weeks, according to Storyboard18.

Skydance did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the memo.