Jesse Sisgold will leave Skydance for RedBird Capital Partners after 14 years with the entertainment media company, TheWrap has learned.
He will serve as a senior C-suite advisor, reporting to managing partner of RedBird Gerry Cardinale. Skydance confirmed the exit to TheWrap Wednesday.
The former president and chief operating officer was a longstanding member of the Skydance team and close confidant of David Ellison. He previously served as president and COO of Skydance Media and chairman of Skydance Sports. He later became head of Paramount’s Sports Entertainment Division in August 2025.
Sisgold originally joined Skydance in 2014, leading strategy and business affairs before being quickly promoted to COO later that same year.
“While Jesse is stepping away from his official role, I don’t really think of this as Jesse leaving Skydance,” Ellison wrote in his memo to staff. “He helped build this place. He is part of its DNA. And he will always be part of this family.”
“You can’t tell the story of Skydance without Jesse. He helped start this company with me. When we were 14 people working out of a bungalow on the Paramount Lot, Jesse was there – helping imagine, build and shape the future we’re living today,” he added.
RedBird Capital is closely tied with Skydance. The private equity firm tripled its investment in Skydance earlier this month, bringing their total commitment to the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery giant up to $6 billion. RedBird first invested $275 million in Skydance in 2019, upping its commitment to help acquire Paramount from Shari Redstone’s National Amusements.
“Jesse will serve as a senior C-suite advisor to Gerry and the RedBird team across their sports and entertainment portfolio, based in Beverly Hills. And importantly for us, he’ll remain close to Skydance and continue working with us on sports and entertainment opportunities,” Ellison’s memo continued.
Ellison credited Sisgold for raising the capital that fueled the production company’s growth and forging relationships that changed its trajectory, specifically with Tencent, RedBird, CJ ENM and KKR.
Earlier this fall, before the merger was finalized, Sisgold sat for an interview with TheWrap to share his plans for the Paramount Sports Entertainment division. He anticipated growth in the live events business and more partnerships with Skydance Games and Paramount Games groups.
“Obviously, if the merger were to happen, there’s just more turf, more opportunity, more of an international presence,” he said. “These are all great for storytelling.”
