Skydance Adds Bobby Kotick and Laurene Powell Jobs to Board, Taps Tony Blair as Adviser

Skydance Corp., formed from the megamerger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, is bringing new blood to its board of directors.

On Tuesday, the company announced that Laurene Powell Jobs, founder and president of Emerson Collective, and Bobby Kotick, founder and former CEO of Activision, are joining the board as independent directors. As previously announced, Ynon Kreiz, the ex-Mattel CEO who joined the company as co-CEO this week, also is joining the board. David Ellison is serving as Skydance’s chairman and CEO.

In addition, former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair will join Skydance as a board adviser. Blair will be acting in a personal capacity. He currently serves as executive chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a not-for-profit organization.

“I am delighted to welcome Laurene and Bobby to our Board and honored to have Tony join us as an adviser,” Ellison said in a statement.

Ellison called Powell Jobs, who was married to Apple’s Steve Jobs, “a true visionary and one of the great institution builders of our time. Her vision, judgment and unwavering commitment to high-quality journalism and media investments make her a truly exceptional addition to our board.” The Emerson Collective, among its other investments, is the majority owner of The Atlantic.

Regarding Kotick, Ellison said, “Bobby led a global entertainment company through three decades of sustained growth, and he brings real perspective on building enduring franchises and connecting with fans. His record of pairing bold strategic moves with disciplined capital allocation is exactly the experience we need as we bring our businesses together.”

And about Blair, Ellison commented, “Tony has led at the highest levels of government, respected for his intellect, strategic vision and ability to bring people together around bold, forward-looking ideas. His global perspective and insight will be invaluable as we turn ambition into results.”

The board will include all current members of Paramount’s board. The 13 Skydance board director-designees are as follows:

• David Ellison, chairman and CEO of Skydance
• Barbara Byrne, former vice chairman of Barclays (independent director)
• Andy Campion, chairman and CEO of Unrivaled Sports (independent director)
• Gerry Cardinale, founder, managing partner and chief investment officer, RedBird Capital Partners
• Safra A. Catz, executive vice chair and former CEO, Oracle
• Andy Gordon, president of Skydance
• Justin G. Hamill, managing director and chief legal officer, Silver Lake (independent director)
• Lauren Powell Jobs, Founder and President, Emerson Collective (independent director)
• Bobby Kotick, founder and former CEO of Activision (independent director)
• Ynon Kreiz, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Skydance
• Sherry Lansing, former chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures (independent director)
• Paul Marinelli, President, Lawrence Investments
• John L. Thornton, chairman of RedBird Capital Partners