Cindy Holland Leaves Brother’s CEO to Advise Skydance and David Ellison on Paramount Deal

Cindy Holland He is stepping down as CEO of the production company sister He will serve as senior advisor to David Ellison and Skydance MediaThis is ahead of the expected closing of Skydance’s merger deal with Paramount Global in 2025.

With the departure of Holland, a longtime Netflix executive, Sister’s board of directors has decided to close its Los Angeles film and TV office at the end of 2024, the company said. CFO Chris Fry will serve as interim CEO while the search for a successor continues. Sister has fewer than 20 employees in Los Angeles.

Holland Joined Sister as global CEO in July 2023After leaving Netflix in 2020, the production company was founded by media mogul Elisabeth Murdoch and “Chernobyl” producer Jane Featherstone.

Holland will offer his broadcast business expertise in his advisory role at Skydance. Under an agreement that Skydance and its financial partner RedBird Capital signed with controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and Paramount’s board of directors, Skydance will merge with Paramount once the transaction is completed (expected in the first half of 2025). Ellison, Skydance’s CEO, is set to become chief executive of the combined company, and former NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell will also become chairman.

Holland said in a statement: “Sister has always been synonymous with quality storytelling, creative integrity and an outstanding team, and I’m so proud to be a part of it. I’m grateful to Liz, Jane and the entire team for their partnership and will work with them on future projects.” I look forward to collaborating with David and the senior team at Skydance and am energized by the opportunity to work closely with them.”

Elisabeth Murdoch said in a statement: “Cindy is a wonderful, talented executive and everyone is lucky enough to work with her. I am truly grateful to her for her stewardship and leadership, and I hope we will collaborate together in a new capacity for many years to come. These are challenging times for manufacturing companies, requiring difficult decisions. The board of directors Like me, he believes that we can significantly drive sustainable growth and strengthen our group UK for Sister film and television operations, selling and producing for the US and the world by doubling down on our proven track record of producing successfully in the UK for a global audience. “Our incredible home base here will be our model going forward. I am grateful to the Sister US film and television team for their work, and we will look after them.”

Sister’s board of directors concluded that, given the challenging market conditions for film and TV production in the US, it made more sense to close the Los Angeles office and focus more of its resources on the UK market.

Sister has six projects this year: “Good Grief” (Netflix), “Passenger” (ITV/BritBox), “Eric” (Netflix), “Kaos” (Netflix), “The Split: Barcelona” (BBC) and “Black Doves” (Netflix), which has been ordered for a second season ahead of its December premiere. Additionally, Dorothy St. is on this year’s list with her investments. Pictures’ Emmy-winning “Pop’s Greatest Night” (Netflix), “Anatomy of Lies” (Peacock), and South of the River Pictures’ “Bad Little Letters.” Locksmith Animation’s “Last Christmas” (Netflix) and Campside Media’s podcasts “Noble,” “Night Shift” and “White Devil,” among others. Other upcoming projects include Yes Yes Media’s “Silence is Golden” (U&Dave) and Locksmith Animation’s “That Christmas” for Netflix and Warner Bros. for “Bad Fairies”.

Sister will continue to sell and produce shows for the U.S. The company’s remaining investments in the U.S. include Zando and Campside Media (in which it holds a majority stake), and the company is affiliated with Dorothy St. Pictures and Locksmith Animation’s US-based employees. .

During Holland’s tenure, Sister US received the green light from Netflix for “The Woman in Cabin 10,” currently in production, and landed talent deals with Natasha Lyonne and Brit Marling/Zal Batmanglij.