Paramount's chief executive officer is resigning, the company's board of directors announced Monday.
Bob Bakish will be replaced by a new CEO Office comprised of three senior executives: CBS President George Cheeks, Showtime/MTV President Chris McCarthy, and Paramount Pictures/Nickelodeon President Brian Robbins. takes office.
“Paramount Global has great assets and we believe strongly in the company's potential for future value creation,” Shari Redstone, Paramount's chairman of the board, said in a statement. “I have tremendous confidence in George, Chris and Brian. They have both the ability to develop and execute a new strategic plan and the ability to work together as true partners.”
The board said in a statement that the new office will allow the company to grow faster, develop popular content, streamline operations, strengthen its balance sheet and optimize its streaming strategy.
Bakish, who has led Paramount Global since 2019, will step down immediately. He has been an employee since 1997, at Viacom he became CEO in 2016, and shortly after the company merged with CBS he became CEO at Paramount.
The move comes amid reports that Paramount is in merger talks with Skydance, the media company run by Hollywood executive David Ellison. The two companies need to finalize an agreement by early May before Paramount considers other offers.