Ellison appoints Ynon Kreiz to lead studio

David Ellison appointed Ynon Kreiz to lead operations at the company formed by the merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, setting the combined studio's management ahead of its launch, officials said. Market reaction was pending.

Kreiz, former Mattel CEO Officials said Kreiz is an Israeli-American executive who previously served as CEO of Mattel and has been tapped to help integrate the two studios' operations. The appointment followed a settlement this week that cleared the way for the merger to proceed, officials said.

Officials said the hire is intended to provide operational continuity as teams combine production, distribution and licensing functions across the two companies. For equity investors, a named operations chief reduces a source of uncertainty around who will run day-to-day studio business after the legal and regulatory steps that enabled the merger were completed, officials said.

Investors will watch trading on Oct. 5 for any equity reaction to the appointment and for further management announcements in the coming days.