From Barbie to Batman, Israeli-American Ynon Kreiz Set to Co-Run $110bn Paramount-Warner Giant

Former Mattel chairman and chief executive Ynon Kreiz has been appointed co-CEO of the company that will be formed by Paramount Skydance's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. His role as co-CEO of the combined company will take effect when the merger closes.

Paramount announced the appointment on 30 September 2026. Kreiz is due to join Paramount on 5 October and become a member of its board, while David Ellison will remain chairman and CEO. The acquisition values Warner Bros. Discovery at approximately $110 billion (£82 billion) in enterprise value, including debt, and is expected to close on 6 October, subject to customary closing conditions.

Kreiz's Career Before Paramount

Kreiz, an Israeli-American executive, led Mattel from 2018 until 2 October 2026. Under his leadership, the company expanded its entertainment business and pursued film and television projects based on its brands, including the 'Barbie' film, which became the highest-grossing film worldwide in 2023.

Mattel named Roger Lynch, who had led Condé Nast since 2019 and served on Mattel's board since 2018, as Kreiz's successor. Lynch became chairman on 2 October and is due to assume the chief executive role on or before 2 November 2026.

Before joining Mattel, Kreiz co-founded Fox Kids Europe, which operated pay-TV channels across Europe and the Middle East. He studied economics and management at Tel Aviv University and earned an MBA from UCLA.

Ellison and Kreiz to Share Oversight

The merger is expected to bring Warner Bros. and its DC properties, including Batman and Superman, under the same corporate ownership as Paramount Pictures and CBS.

Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery signed their merger agreement on 27 February 2026. The agreed purchase price was $31 per share (£23 per share) in cash, valuing WBD's equity at about $81 billion (£61 billion).

The combined operations will report jointly to Ellison and Kreiz. Ellison will oversee strategy, creative direction, technology and capital allocation, while Kreiz will manage day-to-day operations and integration.

Ellison announced on Friday, 2 October, that the combined company would be called Skydance, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. 'We have big goals for Skydance, and we intend to pursue them with passion, imagination and a willingness to take smart risks,' he wrote in his first post on X.

Paramount's Earlier Response to Israel Boycott

In 2025, Paramount publicly rejected a petition calling for a boycott of Israeli film institutions. The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that Paramount was the only major American studio to publicly rebuke the petition at the time.

The same report said Kreiz attended a 2023 screening at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles of footage from the 7 October Hamas attacks. The screening was associated with Israeli actress Gal Gadot, while other reports identified filmmaker Guy Nattiv and publicist Melissa Zukerman among those involved in organising the event.

Ruffalo and Paramount Exchange Criticism

Actor Mark Ruffalo criticised the merger in an Instagram post on 21 August 2026, linking his opposition to Oracle, the technology company co-founded by Ellison's father, Larry.

Ruffalo referred to what he called a 'genocide' built on an 'apartheid system of oppression powered by Oracle', TheWrap reported.

In a statement to the publication, a Paramount spokesperson accused Ruffalo of invoking antisemitic tropes. The spokesperson said that describing the corporate transaction with terms such as 'genocide' and 'apartheid' was wrong and diminished the suffering those terms were intended to describe.

Ruffalo rejected the accusation in a post on X on 22 August, calling it 'appalling and fundamentally dishonest'. He said criticism of Israeli political leaders, military technology contracts or the executives supplying them was not criticism of Jewish people. He has also cited concerns about job losses and concentrated media ownership.

Kreiz's appointment adds another senior executive with ties to Israel to the leadership of the company that is expected to oversee Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., CBS, CNN and the combined group's streaming businesses once the transaction closes.