Paramount Global’s chief communications and corporate marketing officer Julia Phelps is exiting her role at the end of May.
In her two decades across multiple roles at the media conglomerate, Phelps has been a strategic and collaborative executive, overseeing the company’s marketing communications group through the Viacom-CBS merger, the launch of Paramount+, the Paramount Global rebrand and the company’s ongoing transformation.
In partnership with Paramount’s divisions and corporate functions, Phelps has developed the company’s Spark employee town hall initiative, global expansion of BET’s Content for Change campaign, and ongoing community engagement and ESG efforts. She also helped establish the company’s cross-company marketing and publicity functions.
“Paramount is a place that lives up to its name in every respect — unbeatable storytelling, iconic brands, unforgettable pop culture moments and, above all, the most passionate, intelligent, and fun people anyone could ever dream of working alongside,” she wrote in an internal memo to staff. “I’ve been lucky to work with the very best all around the world. I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve done together to tell our story, spotlight our creativity, drive the transformation of our business in a time of unprecedented change, and build our culture.”
Phelps’ previously roles within the company include Viacom’s executive vice president of culture and marketing, executive vice president of communications for the company’s international media networks and vice president of corporate communications. She joined Viacom in 2005 from DeVries Public Relations, a New York-based communications agency.
Phelps marks the latest executive departure at Paramount after former CEO Bob Bakish stepped down from his position.
Bakish has since been replaced by an Office of the CEO, comprised of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon CEO and president Brian Robbins, CBS CEO and president George Cheeks and Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and Paramount Media Networks CEO Chris McCarthy, which is in the process of developing a long-term strategic plan for the company.
In the interim, the marketing communications division will report to Robbins until the group structure is finalized.
Both Phelps and Bakish’s exits come as Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone has opened discussions about a potential sale after letting its exclusivity window with Skydance Media lapse with no agreement reached.
An independent special committee evaluating bids will continue to explore the two-step deal proposed by Skydance founder David Ellison, which would see the company acquire control through Redstone’s National Amusements, which owns 77% of Paramount voting stock, and merge the two studios together.
In addition to Skydance, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apollo Global Management recently made a a joint $26 billion all-cash offer that would see the former take a majority stake and operating control, while the latter takes a minority stake. However, CNBC recently reported that Sony is currently rethinking its bid to acquire all of Paramount.
Paramount, which has a market capitalization of $8.37 billion, has seen its shares fall 23.4% in the past year, 16.5% year to date and 13.7% in the past six months. Phelps’ departure was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
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