David Berson, the chairman for the Skydance Global Sports Group, set his executive roster.
In a new memo sent out Thursday, Berson – who was named the chairman for Skydance Sports right after the merger with Paramount and Warner Bros. closed, laid out what the rest of his roster was going to look like. Among the highest up are veteran execs Jeff Gerttula and Craig Barry.
Gerttula was a CBS Sports digital vet and will now oversee digital, international, strategy and business development for the sports branch. Barry is coming from TNT and Turner and will serve as the EVP and CCO for Skydance Sports.
Among the list of executives who are departing as a result of the merger, the names include Nate Smeltz, Harold Bryant, Sophia Constantinides, Patrick Crumb, Donald Knight, and Raphael Poplock. Berson celebrated them in the memo saying they were “excellent executives whom I greatly admire and respect.”
Below is the full list of the new Skydance Sports roster and job descriptions, according to the memo:
- Jeff Gerttula – Executive Vice President and Managing Director. In this new role, Jeff will oversee digital, international, strategy and business development for sports. As we are still assessing the international structure and operating model, Jeff will be the point person with the international sports teams. Bennett Spector will join Jeff’s team and continue to oversee Bleacher Report and House of Highlights. Yang Adija will also join Jeff’s team, with a focus on digital strategy and operations.
- Craig Barry – Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer. Craig will be responsible for all production, including remote and live event production, studio production, on-air talent, features, creative content, graphics and editorial.
- Patty Power – Executive Vice President, Operations and Engineering. Patty will manage day-to-day operations and engineering, including remote technical operations, production management, engineering, post-production and media operations, and on-air operations.
- Dan Weinberg – Executive Vice President, Programming. Dan will lead our programming group, responsible for programming strategy, rights acquisitions, program development, scheduling, and relationship management with our league partners.
- Chris Carter – Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Chris will oversee all financial efforts.
- Kelly Dunne – Executive Vice President, Marketing. Kelly will oversee the sports marketing group.
- Jen Sabatelle – Executive Vice President, Communications. Jen will oversee all communications functions, including strategy; media relations; internal, external and corporate communications; and manage media appearances for executives and on-air talent.
- Bryn Berglund – Senior Vice President, Human Resources. Bryn will manage human resources for the sports organization.
- Doug Bernstein – Senior Vice President, Insights and Audience Strategy. Doug will oversee all audience research efforts for sports.
- Kevin Glidewell – Senior Vice President, Legal. Kevin will lead the sports legal team.
- Deanna O’Toole – Senior Vice President, Business Affairs. Deanna will lead contract negotiations for talent and production personnel, footage, clearances, and other rights-related deals.
As the new teams are settled following the merger, Skydance is targeting more than $6 billion in cost savings, which will include an unspecified number of layoffs. Ahead of that, Ellison and Kreiz released a memo earlier this week giving some employees the option of a voluntary buyout in a “one-time offer.”
“As we bring our teams together, we recognize that not everyone will see their future here, and we respect that. To give eligible employees the option to move on in a way that works for them, we are introducing a Voluntary Buyout (VBO) Program,” Ellison and Kreiz told staff in a memo. “Those who qualify will receive an individual communication with their personalized details and terms, and a window to decide whether to accept this one-time offer.”
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