Warner Bros. Discovery’s two US advertising co-presidents are exiting as Skydance assembles a single ad-leadership team after its $110 billion Paramount merger. Ryan Gould and Robert Voltaggio will remain through the fourth quarter, working with Skydance Advertising Chief Revenue Officer Jay Askinasi on the transition.
The exits are less a personnel story than a signal about how the combined group will sell video. Askinasi told staff the goal is “clear ownership, fewer layers, and leaders who are close to the work.”
The new org chart
Askinasi named one integrated leadership structure rather than two legacy sales teams:
- U.S. Sales: Danielle Carney
- Ad Partnerships: Jill Steinhauser
- Revenue Operations: Christine Hong
- Skydance Media Labs: Chris Brady
- Ad Marketing: Ed Romaine
- Product Strategy & Measurement: Evan Giamanco
Steve Ellis stays as COO and becomes integration lead, coordinating across Skydance. Lee Sears continues to run Paramount’s international advertising business. The WBD international ad business is explicitly under review, with Askinasi and JB Perrette set to decide the right structure in coming months.
Why buyers should watch
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the change points to a simpler seller structure—eventually. One team across legacy lines, with product strategy and measurement reporting directly, can make planning and post-campaign analysis easier to navigate if the integration holds.
“We will organize around how clients plan and buy, elevate our strongest IP and creative capabilities, and use shared data and intelligence to make faster, better decisions.”
That quote is the strategy in one sentence. Instead of organizing around WBD versus Paramount legacies, the ad group is organizing around client workflows. In practice, buyers should use the Q4 handover to confirm three things: who owns their account, how measurement points carry over, and whether any current negotiations need a dedicated transition conversation.
The risk is timing. Executives are leaving while integration decisions are still open, especially internationally. Until reporting lines settle, some planning cycles could run slower, even if the long-term story is consolidation.
What to watch next: the WBD international structure decision and whether the new leadership can hold pricing and packaging steady while the combined inventory is being defined.
Source: TheWrap
