Paramount Skydance has appointed Jay Askinasi, who most recently led advertising at Roku, as its chief revenue officer.
Askinasi will officially join Paramount on November 3, reporting directly to CEO David Ellison and president Jeff Shell. This newly established CRO role will focus on enhancing the company’s monetization strategy and solidifying its long-term goals as an innovative media enterprise, while also working towards a streamlined advertising platform. John Halley will continue as president of Paramount Advertising, under Askinasi’s leadership.
Paramount’s extensive brand portfolio includes CBS, MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, BET, Paramount Networks, and its streaming platforms Paramount+ and Pluto TV.
Askinasi is the latest high-profile hire to join Ellison’s executive team following the closure of the Paramount-Skydance acquisition in early August. This follows the addition of Makan Delrahim, who served as an advisor during the acquisition and is now chief legal officer, and Dane Glasgow, a former Meta executive, who is now chief product officer.
Having spent less than two years at Roku, where he served as senior VP for global media revenue and growth, Askinasi was responsible for overseeing ad sales and managing enterprise partnerships and platform monetization. Before his Roku tenure, he was the CEO of Publicis Media Exchange U.S., directing media investment strategies for various brands under the holding company and managing the monetization of Epsilon assets. His prior experience includes leading agency partnerships for AT&T and serving as president of RUN, a vendor specializing in mobile programmatic ad technology.
In a prepared statement, Shell remarked that Askinasi “offers a rare and highly relevant combination of expertise in ad technology, platforms, data, agencies, and startups, all rooted in a thorough understanding of the media and converged video landscape. Jay is highly regarded for his ability to transform underutilized resources and implement modern, digital-based commercial strategies. His leadership will be crucial as we enhance growth and innovation throughout our operations.”
Askinasi stated, “We are at a critical juncture of transformation within the industry, and Paramount is evidently positioning itself at the leading edge of this evolution. I look forward to contributing to the development of a next-generation digital monetization framework—one that will compete with the largest tech entities—while maintaining the creative excellence and cultural significance that characterize Paramount’s legendary content.”
