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Skydance Adds Powell Jobs, Kotick to Board, Taps Blair as Advisor
Confirmed
In Short: Skydance has added Laurene Powell Jobs and Bobby Kotick to its board, with Tony Blair joining as an advisor.
Co-CEO Ynon Kreiz, who joined Skydance last week, also has a seat on the board.
The new Skydance board includes existing directors from Paramount, now renamed Skydance after closing its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
Chairman and CEO David Ellison welcomed Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, and Bobby Kotick, former CEO of Activision, to the board.
Prime Minister Tony Blair will join as a Board Advisor, acting in a personal capacity.
Ellison said, 'Together with our other directors, they bring the experience and fresh perspectives we need to build Skydance into an extraordinary company.'
Powell Jobs is a highly influential leader in business and philanthropy, committed to journalism and media investments.
Kotick, who will serve on the Skydance board’s nominating and governance committee, joined Activision in 1991.
Blair, Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, is respected for his strategic vision and ability to bring people together around bold ideas.
Ellison noted, 'Bobby led a global entertainment company through three decades of sustained growth, and he brings real perspective on building enduring franchises and connecting with fans.'
Powell Jobs and Kotick are eligible for non-employee director compensation and annual awards if they continue to serve on the board.
Ellison added, 'Her vision, judgment, and unwavering commitment to high-quality journalism and media investments make her a truly exceptional addition to our Board.'
What's confirmed
- Paramount said his global leadership experience and commitment to innovation position him as an invaluable advisor in shaping Skydance’s strategic priorities.
- “I am delighted to welcome Laurene and Bobby to our Board and honored to have Tony join us as an Advisor,” Ellison said.
- Prime Minister Tony Blair will join as a Board Advisor.
- Blair, who will be acting in a personal capacity, is Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a not-for-profit that helps leaders govern in the age of AI.
- Her vision, judgment and unwavering commitment to high-quality journalism and media investments make her a truly exceptional addition to our Board.
- Tony has led at the highest levels of government, respected for his intellect, strategic vision and ability to bring people together around bold, forward-looking ideas.
What's still developing
- Jobs, who has led the Emerson Collective since 2011, is the lead investor of Anonymous Content and Concordia Studio, as well as a majority investor and board chair of The Atlantic.
- He was also vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and founder and co-chair of the Call of Duty Endowment, a nonprofit organization dedicated to placing veterans in high-quality employment.
- She also co-founded and serves on the boards of the Waverley Street Foundation, College Track, the XQ Institute, Chicago CRED and the Ford Foundation and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
- RELATED: Skydance Putting All 3 TV Studios Under George Cheeks: Warner Bros.
- TV, CBS Studios, PTVS – The Dish David Ellison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Skydance Barbara Byrne, Former Vice Chairman of Barclays PLC (Independent Director) Andy Campion, Chairman and CEO of Unrivaled Sports (Independent Director) Gerry Cardinale, Founder, Managing Partner, and Chief Investment Officer, RedBird Capital Partners Safra A.
- “Throughout his tenure, he showed a rare ability to anticipate shifts in how consumers engage with entertainment, investing in new platforms, new business models and new ways of reaching fans while keeping creative excellence at the center of the enterprise,” Ellison said.