RedBird Capital Partners is deepening its operational influence at Paramount Global, with two of its senior executives taking top leadership roles following the company’s upcoming merger with Skydance Media.

Jeff Shell, a RedBird executive and former NBCUniversal Chief Revenue Officer, will become President of the newly combined business, overseeing day-to-day operations. Andy Gordon, also of RedBird and a Goldman Sachs veteran, will serve as Chief Operating Officer. The appointments will take effect when the merger closes on 7 August, according to a report by Reuters.

The combined company will be led by Skydance CEO David Ellison as Chief Executive. The post-merger structure will be streamlined into three operating segments: Studios, Direct-to-Consumer, and TV Media, a strategic reorganisation aimed at accelerating digital growth and simplifying legacy operations.

RedBird, the private investment firm founded by Gerry Cardinale, was instrumental in financing the transaction and shaping the post-merger leadership.

Cindy Holland, a former Netflix executive, will chair the Direct-to-Consumer unit, while Skydance’s Dana Goldberg will serve as Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures. George Cheeks, currently Co-CEO of Paramount, will transition to Chair of Media, overseeing the group’s broadcast and cable assets.

The deal follows a challenging period for Paramount, which has absorbed close to $6bn in write-downs tied to its linear TV assets amid structural shifts in the media landscape. The merger received regulatory approval from the FCC last month and signals a broader pivot by legacy media firms to embrace private equity-led restructurings and streaming-first strategies.

With RedBird’s backing and Ellison’s ambition to build a “tech hybrid” studio, the new company is expected to double down on scaling Paramount+ and expanding its global digital footprint.

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