Exiting Paramount CEO Bob Bakish, seen here in 2019
Matt Winkelmeyer; Getty Images
Paramount announced Monday that its president and CEO Bob Bakish is stepping down and getting replaced by a trio of execs.
Bakish is exiting the entertainment studio as major shareholder Shari Redstone inches closer to a sale of her controlling stake in the company.
David Ellison’s Skydance Media has been angling to buy Paramount.
For the time being, three executives — CBS head George Cheeks; Chris McCarthy, the president and CEO of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks; and Nickelodeon boss Brian Robbins — will run the company as an “Office of the CEO.”
“The Office of the CEO is working with the Board to develop a comprehensive, long-range plan to accelerate growth and develop popular content, materially streamline operations, strengthen the balance sheet, and continue to optimize the streaming strategy,” Paramount’s board said in a statement. “The Board has great confidence in the leaders comprising the Office of the CEO, all of whom are senior creative executives and business leaders with a track record of success running meaningful businesses within Paramount Global.”