Paramount streaming president and CEO exiting role after merger

Paramount Global’s streaming division head has announced his exit just days before the company’s big merger is expected to go through — and a replacement has already been named. 

Tom Ryan, who co-founded Pluto TV back in 2013 and joined Paramount after it purchased the free streamer in 2019, is exiting the company once the merger is done, he announced in a memo Aug. 4, 2025.

Paramount has hired former Netflix vice president of content acquisition Cindy Holland as the new president and CEO of its streaming assets. A separate announcement also listed Holland as the future chair of the new company’s direct-to-consumer division.

The move is one of the latest in a string of expected executive moves that often take place with mergers. The Paramount-Skydance Media merger is expected to close Aug. 7, 2025.

Ryan played a key role in creating the free, ad-supported streaming television market that exists today, as well as having a hand in creating subscription-based streaming products. During his time with Paramount, he was part of the team that relaunched CBS All Access, the network’s early entry into streaming, as Paramount+.

In a memo announcing his departure, Ryan indicated he would continue to serve in an advisory role for Paramount’s streaming strategy but would no longer be involved in “day-to-day” operations. 

In addition to her experience at Netflix, Holland had been most recently serving in an advisory role to Skydance.

Ryan did not provide any specific explanation for his departure. As mentioned, it’s not uncommon for significant leadership changes to occur during mergers, so the reason could be as simple as a business decision to better align the division with what incoming top executives feel more comfortable with. 

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The fact that Ryan’s job is going to a Skydance adviser could also be indicative that the soon-to-be CEO of the “New Paramount,” David Ellison, is looking to put his mark on one of the company’s highest potential divisions, as well as a way of rewarding loyalists from pre-merger days.

While Holland will bring experience working for a major streamer, her most recent role at Netflix was more in the arena of content acquisition, which is just a part of the components that go into running a streaming platform. 

That’s not to say her experience in that area won’t come in handy, given that many streamers are building much of their customer acquisition and retention efforts around exclusive content — in addition to being a key way to stand out in a crowded market. 

Ryan’s exit could also be seen as another hint that Paramount Skydance will eventually combine Pluto TV and Paramount+, though no specific plans for such a move have been announced.

Streaming has been seen as a vital area of growth for media companies as more viewing stop watching TV and movies in traditional ways. 

Full text of Ryan’s memo:

Team,

After twelve phenomenal years entertaining the planet together, the time has come for me to say goodbye. I leave with deep gratitude and pride for a team I love and admire, and for Pluto TV and Paramount+, streaming services that started as bold ideas and have since grown into global powerhouses.

This has been the journey of a lifetime. From the early days of Pluto TV — born out of a tiny West Hollywood warehouse (that is now, in true LA fashion, a cannabis dispensary) — to the incredible launch and scale of Paramount+, this ride has been nothing short of extraordinary.

When we introduced Pluto TV, we were criticized for betting on a free, linear, ad-supported streaming model, when the world was focused only on paid, on-demand, ad-free services. Launching on April Fool’s Day admittedly didn’t help. But we embraced an underdog spirit, remained steadfast and proved the skeptics wrong when the service was acquired by Viacom just five years later and became sustainably profitable the year following.

Together, we helped pioneer FAST before it had a name. We transformed Pluto TV into a billion-dollar business with over 80 million users. We came together to launch Paramount+ into a crowded market and, against all odds, made it the fastest-growing SVOD in the U.S and one of the top four SVOD platforms worldwide. We scaled to 78 million subscribers, hit profitability milestones ahead of schedule and faster than our peers, and just drove Paramount Streaming to a $2.2 billion quarter. This is remarkable growth compared to $1.8 billion for the entire year when we launched the division less than 5 years ago. Even more impressively, our division also generated $157 million in quarterly profit and achieved global profitability for the first half of 2025. But more than the numbers, we built something that mattered—with heart, hustle, and a whole lot of grit.

What I’ll miss most, though, is you — the people, the team, and the culture we created. Through every challenge, especially the more recent ones, you showed up with courage, creativity, and an unshakable sense of purpose. You’ve inspired me every single day and I’m a better leader for it.

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It has been the honor and privilege of my career to lead and work alongside this exceptional team. Thank you for the laughs, the late nights, the karaoke sessions, the bold ideas, and the unwavering belief in what we could do together. While I’ll be stepping away from my day-to-day role following the close of the deal, I’ll be staying on in an advisory capacity to Cindy Holland and the Streaming leadership team to help ensure a smooth and successful transition. I have no doubt that you’ll continue to achieve spectacular things, and I’ll be cheering you on every step of the way.

Tom