Paramount ANZ’s streaming chief exits amid senior exec reshuffle

Last King Of The Cross

Paramount has reshuffled its execs in Australia and New Zealand, with streaming chief Liz Baldwin among those departing.

The SVP & head of streaming role is among around six positions affected, according to local reports, with production VP Frank Filosi and Network Ten’s marketing exec Jean Jenkins also leaving.

Pamela Kaufman

The exits were revealed by Pamela Kaufman, CEO of international markets at Paramount, who said in a note to staff that the changes would see EVP & chief creative officer Beverley McGarvey and commercial chief Jarrod Villani take on new roles.

McGarvey becomes head of Paramount+ for Australia, reporting into Marco Nobili, EVP and international general manager of Paramount Global’s streaming service Paramount+.

Villani is regional lead for the country and will report into Katherine Liu, COO of Paramount international markets.

Both execs also report into Maria Kyriacou, who continues to have overall oversight across broadcast and streaming in her role as president of Paramount in Australia, Canada, Israel & the UK.

Kaufman said the restructuring was part of Paramount’s efforts to globalise its operations, with the moves following cuts in the US last year. At that time, group CFO Naveen Chopra said the restructuring would allow Paramount to “apply a more global mindset to content and platforms.”

The US studio said Baldwin, who had been with the company for eight years and oversaw the roll-out of 10 Play and more recently Last King Of The Cross streamer Paramount+, had been “instrumental” in its streaming operations.

“Frank’s contribution to the company, to countless careers and to the industry is impossible to overstate,” the studio added of Filosi, who had been with Paramount, and ViacomCBS before it, for more than three decades.

Australia is set to become the latest country to introduce local content quotas for international streamers, with legislation due to be introduced in Q3.