Ynon Kreiz, Newly Minted Co-CEO Of Paramount, To Get Pay Bump After WBD Merger Close

Former Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz, who was tapped Wednesday as Co-CEO of the soon-to-merge Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, will collect at least $35.1 million a year by 2027.

In an SEC filing Thursday, Paramount laid out terms of the new exec’s 5-year contract and said its board of directors approved the appointment of Kreiz on Sunday. His exit from Mattel was announced Wednesday morning, with Paramount revealing his new post later in the day.

After a lengthy legal challenge by 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America put it in limbo for two months, the $110 billion merger is slated to close on Tuesday.

The filing lays out two sets of figures, one covering the brief pre-merger period and then another reflecting the time after the completion of the deal. The official first day of Kreiz’s employment contract is Monday, October 5, meaning he will have had time to put a few office supplies in desk drawers and visit the commissary before the elevated figures take effect.

Kreiz, 61, will be paid an annual base salary of $3.5 million, rising to $5 million the day after the merger closes. His annual bonus targeted at $1.5 million will increase to $4.9 million.

He will be eligible for 2.6 million shares of Class B stock along with another stock award of 1.25 million shares. Within 15 days after the merger close, he will be granted restricted stock units worth up to $5.1 million, prorated based on the part of the first year of employment following the merger close. Starting on October 5, 2027, the first anniversary of the start of the contract, Kreiz will be granted annual equity awards worth $20.1 million.

While there are a number of variables, as is always the case with executive compensation, the upshot of the new figures is that Kreiz will be at the high end of the range of his recent pay at Mattel. In 2023, he took home $18.9 million for running the toymaker, with the tally jumping to $37.8 million in 2024 and then declining to $15.1 million last year.

The filing said Kreiz, who led Endemol Group, Maker Studios and Fox Kids Europe before joining David Ellison as Co-CEO, has “extensive leadership experience in the media and entertainment industry.” That background merited his appointment to the company’s board of directors along with the exec position, the board said.