Skydance has set a new leadership structure spanning its direct-to-consumer and television operations, assigning global and regional executives to roles designed to connect the company’s streaming and TV businesses more closely.

In an internal announcement signed “JB,” the company said the overhaul reflects increasing crossover between DTC and television as consumer behavior and the wider industry continue to change. The leadership model is intended to combine local expertise with global capabilities while making strategic and financial decisions in the interest of Skydance as a whole.

The transition also brings several departures. Skydance thanked Dan Barnes, Michael Bishara, Jamie Cooke, Domenic DiMeglio, Marco Nobili, Pank Patel and Juan Sola for their contributions to its DTC and TV businesses.

Global DTC and TV leadership

The newly designated executives will join previously announced leaders Jay Askanasi in advertising, Ray Hopkins in distribution and David Decker in content sales.

Jeff Cusson, executive vice president and head of communications for Skydance DTC, will oversee communications strategy for the streaming services. He will share reporting lines to JB, Casey and Skydance Chief Communications Officer Mel Zukerman. International communications teams will report directly into Cusson’s organization while maintaining dotted-line relationships with country general managers or managing directors.

Shauna Spenley is expanding her remit as chief marketing officer for global DTC and international TV. She will oversee international television marketing in partnership with JB and George Cheeks, with international streaming and TV marketing teams reporting into her organization. Local marketing groups, particularly in larger free-to-air markets, will retain dotted-line relationships with country leadership. Spenley will also have a dotted line to Skydance CMO Rebecca Mall, while teams led by Sola and DiMeglio, along with marketing resources in other groups, will move under her.

Trey Turner will add the position of chief operating officer of international to his finance responsibilities. Reporting to JB, he will help oversee the international portfolio. Pank Patel’s strategy team, Louis Goldstein, Vanessa Brookman, Lee Hobbs and Myriam Lopez-Otazu will join Turner’s organization.

Josh Walker will serve in two posts: COO of DTC, reporting to JB and supporting Casey, and CFO of DTC, reporting to Skydance CFO Dennis Cinelli. Walker’s operating responsibilities cover business strategy and planning; content strategy, planning, analysis and acquisitions; pricing; podcasting; and project and program management. Rodrigo Mazon and most of Michael Bishara’s team will move into Walker’s group.

Liz Wright has been named CFO of the Skydance TV segment, leading finance for CBS and the global television networks business. She will partner with Cheeks and JB while reporting to Cinelli.

Skydance will also search internally and externally for a dedicated head of Pluto/AVOD. Olivier Jollet, Will Gurman and Kevin Kroll will ultimately report to that executive. During the search, their team will report on an interim basis to Walker and JB.

Four international regions

Internationally, Skydance is establishing four regional leadership posts covering the combined TV and streaming operations. Those executives will directly oversee distribution, advertising sales, business and commercial development across networks and streaming, as well as television programming in their respective markets.

Andrew Georgiou will serve as interim president and managing director for Europe and Africa. Georgiou is due to take a new role outside the company next year but will assist with the transition while Skydance searches for his replacement.

Reporting to Georgiou will be Alessandro Araimo, whose Southern Europe responsibilities covering Italy, Spain and France will expand to include Turkey and Africa; Qaisar Rafique, who will oversee European distribution and business development as well as Central and Eastern Europe outside Poland; Reemah Sakaan, who will lead the UK and Ireland entertainment business alongside her existing Channel 5 role; and Christina Sulebakk, who will continue overseeing the Nordics, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Benelux.

James Gibbons, president and managing director of APAC and MENA, will lead Asia Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa. Beverley McGarvey, Jason Monteiro and Shonali Bedi will move under Gibbons.

Kasia Kieli will continue leading Poland as an integrated media operation spanning entertainment, news, sports, digital and studios. Fernando Medin, president and managing director of LATAM/US Hispanic, will oversee Latin America and US Hispanic operations, with Adam Waltuch moving under him.

The regional executives will collaborate with the global functional teams and with advertising, distribution and sports leaders, including David Berson in sports. Skydance said it expects to clarify those working arrangements further in the coming weeks.

Additional personnel moves

Leah Hooper, regional streaming lead for Europe, is completing maternity leave and is expected to return in January. Ronald Goes is moving to the Skydance TV Studios operation under Channing, while Efrain Miron is leaving the DTC organization to explore other opportunities within the company.

Skydance acknowledged that the accelerated transition may require further refinements, particularly as individual sub-teams are aligned with the new organization. The newly appointed leaders will now begin working through their respective structures.

ShowBiz Take

This is more than a list of new titles. Skydance is explicitly organizing television and streaming as interconnected businesses, while still preserving regional authority in programming, sales, distribution and commercial development. Dual roles such as Walker’s, and expanded remits such as Spenley’s, show how the company intends to place strategy, marketing and financial oversight across traditional TV and DTC rather than keeping them in separate lanes.

What Happens Next?

The most visible unresolved appointments are the permanent Europe and Africa leader who will succeed Georgiou and the new head of Pluto/AVOD. Skydance also expects additional reporting-line clarifications as executives reshape their teams in the coming weeks.