Skydance Names Bob Kotick And Laurene Powell Jobs Directors, Effective At Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Closing
An 8-K shows both appointments take effect only at closing, and Kotick will sit on the Nominating and Governance Committee.
Skydance's board appointed Robert Kotick a director on Sunday and Laurene Powell Jobs on Monday, an 8-K filed Tuesday shows. Both seats take effect at the closing of the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
What the 8-K says
The filing, signed by General Counsel and Secretary Stephanie Kyoko McKinnon, reports the Sunday appointment of Kotick, 63, who will serve on the Nominating and Governance Committee. Powell Jobs, 62, was appointed Monday. The filing says the committee seat applies to Kotick.
Kotick ran Activision Blizzard as chief executive and sat on its board from 1991 until 2023, when Microsoft bought the company. The company says he is qualified because of his "extensive experience running a public company in the media industry."
Powell Jobs is Founder and President of Emerson Collective. Through it, the filing says, she is lead investor of Anonymous Content and Concordia Studio, and majority investor and chair of the board of The Atlantic. The company cited her experience investing in innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises and her focus on high-quality journalism.
Both are eligible for the non-employee director pay program, including a pro-rated annual award on appointment. Each can also receive an annual award after any future stockholder meeting, if they will continue to serve on the board afterward. Both signed the company's standard indemnification agreement for directors and officers.
The board takes shape
Axios reported Monday that David Ellison, Ynon Kreiz and Andy Gordon will also serve on the board, with Ellison as chairman.
The merger agreement is dated February 27, 2026, according to the filing. Variety reported that Ellison and Kreiz told employees Tuesday that integration will bring difficult workforce decisions.
A Los Angeles County report issued in August said the merger could cost about 4,500 film and TV jobs in Los Angeles alone over three years.
The filing gives Kotick and Powell Jobs their board seats only at closing, and their later annual awards depend on continued service.
Sources
- 8-K Filing — Skydance Corp (PSKY) — SEC EDGAR
- Skydance CEOs Say Layoffs Will Be Coming After Paramount-WB Merger: Read the Full Memo — variety.com
- Skydance announces leadership for combined company — Axios
- Skydance Bosses Tease What's to Come After Paramount-WB Merger Closes — thewrap.com
- Skydance to Reorganize International; Kevin MacLellan Will Not Lead — variety.com
- Paramount completes $111B Warner merger, creating “Skydance” behemoth - Ars Technica — arstechnica.com
More on Paramount Skydance
- Skydance Closes Its Warner Bros. Discovery Purchase With $51.9 Billion In New Debt And A $6 Billion Savings Target
- Paramount Skydance Plans NYSE Move And Name Change To Skydance Corporation, Both Set For October 6
- Paramount Skydance Names Mattel's Ynon Kreiz Co-CEO Days Before Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Close
