Paramount Skydance CTO Phil Wiser to Leave Company at End of May

Phil Wiser, Paramount Skydance's chief technology officer, told his colleagues on Friday morning that he is leaving the company at the end of May. His last day at Paramount Skydance is May 29. The departure was planned, according to a person familiar with the move.

Wiser has worked at the company for seven years after joining in September 2018. He previously served as the tech chief for Hearst and Sony. During his tenure he saw the Viacom-CBS merger, the rebrand to Paramount, the Paramount-Skydance tie-up and the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Writing this and sharing this news is harder than I expected," Wiser said in his farewell memo. " He added that he is not retiring. A person familiar with the move said Wiser may look to work with tech startups.

Dane Glasgow, Paramount's chief product officer, sent a follow-up email to staffers about Wiser's departure. "Phil has played a meaningful role in shaping our technology strategy during his time here," Glasgow said. " Wiser's responsibilities will be divided among four executives who will report to Dane Glasgow.

They are Laksh Nathan, EVP and chief information officer; Jim Harrison, EVP of infrastructure & media technology; Frank Governale, SVP of production technology & operations; and Carlo Joseph, chief information security officer. David Ellison became CEO last August. Paramount has embraced a tech-forward approach since Ellison became CEO.

The company has launched a short-form video feed on Paramount+, explored adding video podcasts and interactive elements, and is combining the tech platforms for Paramount+ and Pluto TV. Business Insider reported that Ellison has told employees that prioritizing investments in advanced technology and data capabilities is key to narrowing the gap with Netflix in the streaming space.

In recent months the company has brought key tech teams together in a process called convergence.

Wiser joined Paramount before the streaming wars intensified and helped rebuild the media supply chain, ad tech ecosystem and licensing solutions. He oversaw streaming of live events at record scale, beginning with the Super Bowl in 2019, and led the implementation of Oracle Fusion in 15 months.

In his memo, Wiser thanked the team for late nights, early mornings and solving problems unseen by others.

He highlighted their work during COVID-19, protecting the company while building AI-first cybersecurity capabilities, and embracing AI opportunities early. "What I am most grateful for is not the accomplishments — as remarkable as they are. It is the people," he wrote.

He told staff he would remain through the end of May and hoped to see many of them in the coming weeks to say farewell.