Paramount names new Investor Relations Chief

Paramount Global has named former Activision Blizzard and Snap exec Kristin Southey as its new investor relations chief.

Southey becomes executive vp of investor relations, reporting to CFO Naveen Chopra. She succeeds Anthony DiClemente, who will remain with the Hollywood studio through mid-April to ensure a smooth transition, the company said.

Southey earlier was head of investor relations for Snap Inc. and spent 15 years in the same role and as treasurer at Activision Blizzard. In her new role, Southey will oversee relationships with Wall Street analysts and serve as part of Paramount’s finance team as the studio emerges from the re-merger of Viacom and CBS under CEO Bob Bakish.

“With a wealth of experience and track record of success, Kristin is ideally suited to communicate to the investor community how the Company’s global, multiplatform strategy is positioned to create value at a time when our differentiated approach shows momentum across content and platforms,” Chopra said in a statement.

Paramount under Bakish has managed a newly-merged entity that includes traditional media like Paramount films, CBS programming, Nickelodeon shows and franchises, and new streaming platforms like Paramount+ and Paramount’s free, advertising-supported streaming service Pluto TV.

To improve the economics of its streaming offerings to secure profitability, Paramount has also become the latest Hollywood conglomerate to revamp its streaming setup and strategy, unveiling a sweeping combination of the Paramount+ streaming service and Showtime. The Hollywood Reporter