David Ellison has now been formally appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Skydance, a newly forged entertainment behemoth arising from the long-anticipated and ultimately successful merger between Paramount and Skydance. This union solidified Ellison’s position as one of the most influential figures in modern Hollywood. Fresh from clinching the deal, Ellison has already set his ambitions even higher: his next pursuit is Warner Bros. Discovery. Demonstrating both confidence and audacity, he has initiated a hostile takeover bid, seeking to wrest the company from Netflix’s grasp and expand his empire further into the domain of streaming and studio ownership.
At just forty-two years old, Ellison’s rise has been both swift and strategic. He founded Skydance in 2006, drawing initial support and investment from his father, Larry Ellison, the billionaire cofounder of Oracle. With an estimated net worth of $277 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Larry’s financial might provided David with a strong foundation from which to launch the studio. Over the years, Skydance evolved from a bold cinematic startup into a prolific production powerhouse responsible for some of modern cinema’s most prominent blockbusters. Among its major successes are films such as *Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol* and *Baywatch*, which collectively contributed to the studio’s cumulative box-office earnings surpassing $8 billion worldwide. When the Skydance–Paramount merger was finalized, the deal valued Skydance itself at approximately $4.75 billion, underscoring its substantial worth in the global film marketplace. Arguably, the company’s crown jewel to date has been *Top Gun: Maverick*, a defining cultural phenomenon that soared to become the second-highest-grossing film of 2022, amassing nearly $1.5 billion across international markets.
Ellison’s personal connection to aviation has long been part of his mythos. Having been captivated by the original *Top Gun* as a child, his enthusiasm for flight turned into a lifelong passion. His father encouraged that interest by purchasing him an airplane when David was only thirteen. Together, they undertook flying lessons—a bonding experience that blended high-tech precision with paternal mentorship. By age seventeen, Ellison was performing daring aerial acrobatics at air shows, an early testament to both his adventurous spirit and his fascination with technical mastery. Eventually, he chose to step away from competitive flying when he began studying film at the University of Southern California. Although he later left the program before completing his degree, as he shared in an interview with journalist Kara Swisher for *The New York Times* podcast “Sway,” those early academic experiences in visual storytelling helped him transition from the sky to the studio.
Before his rise as a Hollywood executive, Ellison explored acting, briefly stepping in front of the camera. In 2006, he starred in *Flyboys*, a Skydance production chronicling the heroism of American pilots who volunteered for the French Air Force during World War I. Despite its ambitious scope and a substantial budget of roughly $65 million, the film underperformed, earning around $18 million according to *The Hollywood Reporter*. Though commercially disappointing, the project provided Ellison firsthand insight into the volatile economics of filmmaking—a lesson that would later influence his decisions as a producer and studio chief.
The professional relationship between Skydance and Paramount stretches back more than a decade. Their first major collaboration came in 2011 when the two companies jointly financed Joel and Ethan Coen’s *True Grit.* This partnership proved lucrative and critically rewarding: the film not only grossed about $200 million at the global box office but also garnered ten Academy Award nominations, including a nod for Best Picture. During this period, Ellison’s sister, Megan Ellison, also carved out an impressive reputation of her own within the film industry. Her production company, Annapurna Pictures, has earned critical acclaim for producing films such as *Zero Dark Thirty,* *Her,* *American Hustle,* and *Phantom Thread*—each one nominated for Oscars and recognized for their artistic sophistication.
In August, the $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance officially closed, marking a monumental shift in Hollywood’s corporate structure. David Ellison stepped into dual leadership roles as chairman and CEO of the combined entity, now known as Paramount Skydance. Upon assuming command, Ellison initiated sweeping organizational changes. Shortly after the merger’s completion, the company underwent significant workforce reductions—an outcome that, while common in major corporate consolidations, underscored the challenges of integrating two massive operations. Approximately 1,000 employees were laid off in October, and the company disclosed that additional staff reductions were likely. Furthermore, some 600 workers opted to accept severance packages and depart voluntarily rather than return to on-site work, reflecting evolving professional dynamics in the modern entertainment industry.
Ellison’s approach to leadership combines aggressive deal-making with strategic reinvention. He appointed Bari Weiss, the journalist best known for her departure from *The New York Times* Opinion section in 2020 and her subsequent founding of *The Free Press*, to head CBS News. Paramount Skydance acquired *The Free Press* for about $150 million, signaling Ellison’s intention to rejuvenate the news division and blend traditional reporting with a modern, entrepreneurial edge. His acquisition streak extended further: he recruited Cindy Holland, a former Netflix executive instrumental in shaping that platform’s streaming strategy, and directed an additional $7.7 billion toward securing exclusive Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) broadcast rights—a bold maneuver demonstrating his commitment to premium, high-profile content. “Everywhere you look, he’s throwing money,” remarked LightShed Partners media analyst Rich Greenfield to *Business Insider*. “That’s what Hollywood gets excited about.”
Emboldened by his recent successes, Ellison has now turned his attention toward perhaps his most ambitious undertaking to date: acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Previously, Paramount Skydance competed alongside Netflix and Comcast in an intense bidding war for the company, which ultimately resulted in WBD accepting Netflix’s offer to purchase its streaming and studio assets for $72 billion. Unwilling to concede defeat, Ellison has countered with a combative strategy. On December 8, Paramount Skydance initiated a hostile bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, proposing an offer of $30 per share to acquire the entirety of the company, a move intended to reclaim the deal from Netflix’s hands.
That same morning, Ellison publicly defended his proposal during an appearance on CNBC, presenting it as both pragmatic and visionary. Emphasizing the advantages of his approach, he assured shareholders that Paramount Skydance could deliver “faster regulatory certainty to close,” stressing that the acquisition would be “pro-consumer, pro-creative talent, and pro-competition.” In doing so, Ellison articulated not just an expansionist vision, but a declaration of intent to reshape the balance of power in Hollywood—positioning Paramount Skydance at the vanguard of a new era in global entertainment.
Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-david-ellison-paramount-skydance-ceo-2025-12
