Ynon Kreiz Starts as Co-CEO of Paramount as the $111 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Nears Completion

Ynon Kreiz, who spent eight years running toymaker Mattel, starts work on Monday as co-chief executive of Paramount, taking on the operational task of combining two of Hollywood's largest studios as David Ellison's company prepares to complete its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Kreiz's employment begins on 5 October, one day before the merger is expected to close on 6 October. Paramount announced the appointment last week, minutes after a federal judge approved an antitrust settlement between Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and a group of about a dozen state attorneys general.

Under the arrangement, Kreiz will run day-to-day operations and oversee the integration of the combined businesses, while Ellison, chairman and chief executive, will focus on creative development and overall strategy.

"Bringing together Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to create a next-generation global media company is a transformational moment for our industry," Ellison said. "Leading it takes a rare combination of strategic vision, operational depth and experience running a public company at the highest levels of media. Ynon brings all three."

A division of labour

Ellison described the partnership as "a division of labor built on our complementary strengths," saying Kreiz would bring "the operating firepower this integration demands."

Kreiz said he was excited to partner with Ellison "to build the next-generation media and entertainment company — bringing together premium content and iconic brands at the highest quality and scale, serving global audiences across every entertainment vertical and distribution platform."

The structure reflects the scale of the integration ahead. The combined company will bring together the Warner Bros. and Paramount film studios, the HBO Max and Paramount+ streaming services, and television networks ranging from CBS and CNN to MTV and HGTV. Casey Bloys, head of HBO at Warner Bros. Discovery, is expected to take on a senior content role in the combined group.

The pay package

Kreiz's compensation underlines the importance Paramount attaches to the role. According to an SEC filing, he has signed an initial five-year contract with a first-year package worth more than $46.5 million. That includes a base salary of $5 million a year from the close of the merger and a signing bonus reported at $31.5 million. On the first anniversary of his employment, he is due to receive an annual equity award of $20.1 million, with most stock awards vesting over three years.

For comparison, Kreiz received total compensation of $15.1 million as chief executive of Mattel in 2025.

From Barbie to the biggest studio deal

Kreiz, 61, was born in Tel Aviv and moved to the United States in his mid-twenties. Although he is best known for his time at Mattel, his career has been rooted in media.

He was chairman and chief executive of Fox Kids Europe from 1997 to 2002 and led Endemol, the Netherlands-based television production company behind global unscripted formats, from 2008 to 2011. He later ran Maker Studios, a network of YouTube channels, and helped sell it to Disney.

At Mattel, which he joined as chief executive in 2018, Kreiz led a turnaround that included more than $1.5 billion in cost savings, thousands of job cuts and a simplified manufacturing strategy. He also pushed Mattel to treat its brands as intellectual property for film and television, a strategy that culminated in the 2023 film Barbie, one of the highest-grossing films of that year.

That combination of cost discipline and franchise thinking is precisely what Paramount needs. The merger is expected to generate large savings from combining overlapping operations, and the combined company will own an extensive library of franchises that can be developed across film, streaming, television and consumer products.

The integration challenge

The task facing Kreiz is substantial. Large media mergers have a mixed record. Integrating corporate cultures, technology systems and distribution businesses is complex, and the commitments made in the antitrust settlement may limit how aggressively the company can cut costs or consolidate operations.

The combined group will also face a media market in structural transition. Traditional cable television continues to lose subscribers, theatrical box office remains below pre-pandemic levels, and the streaming business is dominated by Netflix, with YouTube capturing a growing share of viewing time. Scale is the main argument for the merger, giving the combined company a deeper content library and more bargaining power with advertisers and distributors. ## Mattel after Kreiz

Kreiz's departure also leaves Mattel to find a new leader after an eight-year tenure in which the company rebuilt its finances and reinvented itself as an entertainment-driven brand owner. The toymaker's next chief executive will inherit a stronger balance sheet and a clearer strategy, but also a share price that has not fully reflected the turnaround, along with a toy market sensitive to tariffs and consumer spending.

Capital is changing Hollywood

Kreiz arrives as the economics of Hollywood are being rewritten. CNBC reported this weekend that private capital is reshaping how films are financed, as investment firms and funds provide money that studios and traditional bank lenders once supplied. For a newly merged studio facing pressure to cut costs, partnerships with outside investors on film slates could become a way to share risk while maintaining output.

A new era in Hollywood ownership

The Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery combination is also part of a broader shift in who owns and finances Hollywood. The Ellison family, backed by the wealth of Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, and RedBird Capital have reshaped Paramount through acquisition, and the combined company will be controlled by owners with deep pockets and long horizons rather than by a widely held shareholder base alone.

Why it matters globally

For global audiences, including in India, the merger will bring together some of the world's best-known entertainment brands under one owner. International markets are a key source of growth for streaming services, and the combined company's strategy in large, competitive markets, where local players and global platforms compete for subscribers, will be watched closely.

For business leaders, the appointment offers a case study in leadership design. Rather than relying on a single chief executive to handle strategy, creative decisions and integration, Paramount has split the role between a founder-owner focused on vision and an experienced operator focused on execution.

Whether that model succeeds will become clear over the next two years, as the company works to deliver the savings and growth it has promised investors. Kreiz's first day is the start of that test.