Josh Greenstein is in talks to join Paramount following the company’s merger with Skydance in an undefined role.
The executive most recently served as Sony Motion Picture Group president, which he’s shared with Sanford Panitch since 2019. The pair were elevated to the role following the departure of Doug Belgrad in 2016. Before that, Greenstein was Sony Pictures’ president of worldwide marketing & distribution. It is unclear if he will be replaced.
Prior to Sony, he worked as Paramount Pictures’ chief marketing officer, marketing co-president and executive vice president of creative advertising. During his tenure at Paramount, he led the marketing campaigns for a diverse mix of films, including “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “World War Z,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Transformers: Age of Extinction,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Flight,” “Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Paranormal Activity,” “True Grit,” “The Fighter,” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.” Before joining Paramount, he served as head of marketing for Dimension Films.
Greenstein would be serving on a leadership team that includes Cindy Holland, a former Netflix executive who has been serving as a senior advisor to Ellison since October, and Skydance chief creative officer Dana Goldberg, who is set to lead the motion picture side of the studio. David Ellison will serve as CEO of New Paramount, while Jeff Shell will serve as president.
Representatives for Skydance and Sony declined to comment.
Under the two-step deal, Skydance is set to acquire controlling shareholder Shari Redstone’s holding company National Amusements, which controls 77.4% of the Paramount Class A common stock outstanding and approximately 9.5% of the overall equity of the company, before merging with the Hollywood studio.
The deal, which is expected to close Aug. 7 following its recent approval by the Federal Communications Commission, provides $2.4 billion for Redstone, $4.5 billion to non-NAI Paramount shareholders and an additional $1.5 billion in new capital to help pay down debt and recapitalize the company’s balance sheet.
Upon closing, the combined company will begin trading on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol PSKY.
