Warner Bros Discovery’s top international executive is leaving just as the company becomes part of Skydance. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international at WBD, confirmed in a Friday memo to colleagues that he will leave at the end of next week.
Kevin MacLellan, Paramount Skydance’s president of international and global content distribution, was also confirmed leaving a day earlier. That leaves the merged company without a named international chief while the leadership team decides how to structure the combined operation.
What the memo said
Zeiler has led WBD’s international business since 2022, with earlier leadership roles at WarnerMedia International and Turner International, and a CEO stint at Germany’s RTL. In his note, he said leaving had been difficult and that colleagues had “made me a better leader” and “made me change my mind.”
“It has been one of the greatest privileges of my professional life to work alongside you.”
That sentiment closes a four-year leadership run at a company now being merged into a new structure.
Why this matters
International operations are where much of the next streaming growth and advertising expansion is being fought. The international president sits on top of local content deals, distribution partnerships and regional ad sales. A gap in that seat, with no successor named, can slow decisions on inventory, carriage and platform strategy.
JB Perrette is covering streaming and networks outside the US in his dual role across Skydance TV and Skydance direct-to-consumer. That gives some continuity for buyers and sellers, but the leadership team plans to reorganise the international business with no specific timetable.
What to watch
- Succession: whether Skydance names a permanent international president or splits the role across streaming and linear.
- Reporting lines: how regional ad sales and content teams map into Perrette’s organisation.
- Deal terms: whether existing distribution and licensing agreements stay stable or get revisited post-merger.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, the practical step is to reconfirm who owns commercial decisions in key non-US markets before relying on old org charts. Leadership changes after a merger are rarely just an HR story; they signal how the new company will allocate power and budget.
Source: C21media
