Skydance adds Robert Kotick and Laurene Powell Jobs to board after Warner Bros. Discovery close

Skydance is bringing two high-profile names into its boardroom as it absorbs Warner Bros. Discovery: former Activision Blizzard chief Robert A. Kotick and Emerson Collective founder Laurene Powell Jobs.

In a regulatory filing after the market closed Tuesday, Skydance said its board appointed both as directors effective with the closing of its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery, under which WBD became a wholly owned subsidiary.

The board approved Kotick's appointment on Oct. 4. He will serve on the Nominating and Governance Committee. Kotick, 63, was CEO and a director of Activision Blizzard from 1991 until 2023, when Microsoft acquired the company, and also served as its chairman from 1991 to 2008. He has previously served on the boards of Coca-Cola, Yahoo and Macromedia, according to the filing.

Skydance said Kotick is qualified because of "his extensive experience running a public company in the media industry."

Powell Jobs, 62, was appointed Oct. 5. She is founder and president of Emerson Collective and is majority investor in and chair of The Atlantic. Through Emerson Collective she is also the lead investor in Anonymous Content and Concordia Studio, the filing said. Skydance cited her experience investing in innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises and in high-quality journalism.

Both new directors are eligible for the company's non-employee director compensation program, including a pro-rated annual award, and have signed its standard indemnification agreement.

Skydance shares, which trade on the NYSE as SKYD, closed at $9.53 Tuesday, down 2.6%, before the filing.

By the numbers

• New directors: 2
• Kotick appointment approved: Oct. 4, 2026
• Powell Jobs appointment approved: Oct. 5, 2026
• Effective: at closing of the WBD merger
• Kotick committee: Nominating and Governance

Sources

1. Skydance Corporation Form 8-K (Item 5.02), filed Oct. 6, 2026, accession 0001104659-26-114113

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