A veteran Paramount executive is leaving as David Ellison’s company shakes up its ad sales leadership.
Chris Simon, a Paramount EVP of agency partnerships, is stepping down, two Paramount employees told Business Insider.
Simon spent 31 years at the company, getting his start at CBS in the mid-’90s, and previously worked at USA Networks, according to his LinkedIn.
The two Paramount staffers said the news was shared during a mid-afternoon meeting on Wednesday, led by Jay Askinasi, Paramount’s chief revenue officer, who joined the company in November.
Karen Phillips, a 29-year company veteran whose title is also EVP of agency partnerships for Paramount Advertising, will oversee that team after Simon’s departure, Askinasi told employees.
An experienced Paramount staffer briefed on the change described it as “more strategic than financial,” saying that consolidating Simon’s position into Phillips’ was done to “remove duplication.”
A second employee characterized the move as being done to “streamline processes” and make “Paramount easier to work with.”
A third Paramount insider familiar with the company’s thinking said there were a few “targeted changes” on the personnel front in Paramount Advertising, “focused on reducing complexity.”
Simon is “stepping down,” this person said, but would remain with the company for an unspecified period to ease the transition.
A Paramount spokesperson declined to comment.
Since taking the helm at Paramount in August, Ellison has made his mark on the company with moves like landing live UFC rights in the US, which is already showing signs of paying off, and by bringing in Bari Weiss as the editor-in-chief of CBS News.
Ellison also made a bold play to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, though WBD chose Netflix as its preferred acquirer — a decision Paramount is challenging with shareholders and in the courtroom.
Under Ellison, Paramount has also called most employees back to the office five days a week, made changes to its data and insights team, and looked to jazz up Paramount+ by exploring the addition of short-form video and interactive features.
Personnel shake-ups are common at companies with new leadership. Another change saw Paramount’s head of streaming product and tech, Vibol Hou, leave the company at the end of January, Business Insider previously reported.
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