Dan Cohen, Paramount Global Chief Licensing Officer and Republic Pictures President, to Depart Ahead of Skydance Merger Closing

Dan Cohen, Paramount Global’s head of content sales and an industry sales veteran, has stepped down from his role in advance of Skydance Media’s takeover of the storied studio and CBS.

Cohen confirmed his departure from the role of chief licensing officer of Paramount Global and his other role as president of Republic Pictures in a note to his staffers sent Thursday. Skydance Media is expected to complete its $8 billion purchase of Paramount on Aug. 7, which will usher in a new management regime on the Melrose lot led by Skydance CEO David Ellison and former NBCUniversal leader Jeff Shell.

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“Over the last 8 years, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the most talented and dedicated individuals in the industry. Together, we’ve navigated a constantly evolving media landscape, forged groundbreaking deals and brought incredible stories to audiences around the world. We’ve built meaningful relationships that have driven real value for our company and our clients, and I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished. I know you’ll continue to carry this important work forward with the same enthusiasm and excellence,” Cohen wrote in the memo.

Cohen had a 20-year run as a TV sales executive at Disney before joining Paramount Pictures as head of television licensing in 2017. During his time at Paramount, Cohen took entrepreneurial steps to relaunch the Republic Pictures banner for genre pics and other titles that wouldn’t naturally flow through Big Paramount. More recently he moved the studio into the FAST channel distribution business in a deal with motivational maestro Tony Robbins, who turned to Paramount for help monetizing his vast archive of content from his long career as a public speaker.

Cohen’s last day at Paramount will be Aug. 1, the executive wrote in his memo.

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