Skydance is losing one of its longest-tenured executives.
Jesse Sisgold, the former president and COO of Skydance Media, who most recently ran Paramount’s Paramount Sports Entertainment division, is exiting the company. He will join RedBird Capital Partners, a strategic partner of Skydance, as a senior C-suite advisor across the firm’s sports and entertainment portfolio.
Skydance CEO David Ellison informed staff of Sisgold’s exit in a memo Wednesday, which was viewed by The Hollywood Reporter.
“I simply could not have built Skydance without him,” Ellison wrote in the note. “From the earliest days, he helped define our strategy and then did the hard work of making it real. He was integral to building our interactive business, raised the capital that fueled our growth and forged relationships that fundamentally changed the trajectory of the company – with Tencent, RedBird, CJ ENM and KKR. He helped us establish Skydance Animation Madrid and ultimately helped lead us through the merger with Paramount. There are very few parts of Skydance that Jesse hasn’t touched, shaped or made better.”
Sisgold joined Skydance in 2014 to lead strategy and business affairs, and was elevated to COO later that year. He also led Skydance Sports, until the creation of Paramount Sports Entertainment when Skydance acquired Paramount last year.
You can read Ellison’s note, below.
Team,
I wanted to share some news with you about someone who has been by my side for much of what we’ve built at Skydance – my longtime colleague and close friend, Jesse Sisgold. After more than a decade helping build Skydance from the ground up, Jesse has made the decision to step away from his official role at the company. But thankfully, he’s not going far.
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 also joined Skydance at a time when it was, in every sense of the word, a family business. His father-in-law, Skip Brittenham, was one of my earliest advisors in Hollywood and someone who had an enormous impact on me. When we lost Skip last year, it was a powerful reminder of how much those early relationships matter – and how fortunate I’ve been to have people like Jesse beside me through so much of it.
I simply could not have built Skydance without him. From the earliest days, he helped define our strategy and then did the hard work of making it real. He was integral to building our interactive business, raised the capital that fueled our growth and forged relationships that fundamentally changed the trajectory of the company – with Tencent, RedBird, CJ ENM and KKR. He helped us establish Skydance Animation Madrid and ultimately helped lead us through the merger with Paramount. There are very few parts of Skydance that Jesse hasn’t touched, shaped or made better.
And then, because Jesse is Jesse, he set out to do even more.
Jesse was instrumental in creating Skydance Sports with the NFL, and following our merger with Paramount, he expanded that foundation into Paramount Sports Entertainment, building it into a unified platform spanning sports storytelling, gaming and fan engagement. Under his leadership, Skydance Sports renewed its partnership with the NFL, earned ten Sports Emmy nominations and delivered #1 releases across four platforms. He leaves the business with a clear strategy, an exceptional team and a slate that continues to raise the bar.
It’s the kind of work you’d expect from him, because if you know Jesse, you know he’s a builder and an entrepreneur at heart. He loves seeing around corners, finding the next opportunity and figuring out how to turn an idea into something real. After more than a decade of doing exactly that here, he wants the freedom to do it across a much broader landscape. I understand that, and I’m excited for him.
And there’s something fitting about where Jesse is headed next.
In 2019, Jesse, Gerry Cardinale and I sat down together. None of us knew exactly where it would lead, but what grew out of that meeting would help transform Skydance – and Gerry would become a great partner and friend along the way. Now 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.
So while Jesse is stepping away from his official role, I don’t really think of this as Jesse leaving Skydance. He helped build this place. He is part of its DNA. And he will always be part of this family.
Jesse, I don’t know that I can adequately thank you for everything you have done for Skydance – and for me – over the past decade. The company we are today simply would not exist without you. I’m incredibly proud of what we built, and even more grateful for the friendship that came with it.
I can’t wait to see what you do next – and look forward to all that we’ll continue to do together in the future.
David
