Paramount Global ‘s unorthodox Office of the CEO , which started as a presumed placeholder, is turning into a longer-term fixture poised to once again reshape the tempest-tossed company. Consisting of three top Paramount execs – George Cheeks , Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins – the Office replaced Bob Bakish when the former CEO was ousted in late April. Related Stories News What’s Next For Paramount After Skydance Merger Talks Fail Executives After Bob Bakish Exit From Paramount, Trio Of Senior Exec Successors Look To Reassure Wall Street, Teasing A New Strategic Plan For The Ailing Media Giant Rather than shepherding the legacy company through a regulatory process with Skydance Media, Cheeks, McCarthy and Robbins must now turn to implementing their strategic plan.
Core elements include layoffs , non-content cost reductions, asset sales and potential streaming partnerships. A number of levers will be pulled in an effort to pay down the company’s debt load of $14 billion and otherwise improve the balance sheet. The trio will be given time – from six months to a year or even 18 months, per various estimates by those close to the situation – to improve Paramount’s financial standing before Redstone entertains another sale, sources tell Deadline.
The turnover at the top coincided with the final stretch of the exclusive merger talks with Skydance, which Bakish opposed. With the combination regaining momentum and mere hours from gaining final board approval, Paramo.
