Viacom And CBS Create Integration Office, Announce Overseers Of Merger Process
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The integration process related to the merger of Viacom and CBS will be managed inside each organization by Viacom Chief Transformation Officer Jose Tolosa and CBS EVP, Strategic Planning and Development Gautam Ranji.
In addition, the companies are forming an Integration Management Office (IMO). News of the IMO, the executive appointments and the hiring of Bain & Company as a merger consultant came via an internal memo to employees from Bob Bakish. Currently Viacom CEO, Bakish will soon be head of ViacomCBS. The $30 billion, all-stock transaction is expected to close by the end of 2019.
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The IMO will be comprised of representatives from both Viacom and CBS. It “will draw from the support of many of you across our organization to ensure that ViacomCBS is ready to operate effectively as a combined company on Day 1,” Bakish wrote. Tolosa and Ranji, he added, “bring a wealth of experience to their new roles, and they’ve already started working together to make sure this process is thoughtful and balanced.”
Tolosa joined MTV Network Latin America in 2008 before taking several executive posts at Viacom’s international media networks division. He was given his current title, Chief Transformation Officer, in late 2017.
Ranji has held his current position at CBS since 2016. In addition to stints at Hearst Magazines and Dun & Bradstreet, the executive also worked at MTV Networks from 2001 to 2009.
Viacom and CBS were under the same corporate roof from 2000 to 2006. They announced their long-expected merger plan in August.
Here is the full memo from Bakish:
Team,
At our last Bob Live I spoke about the importance of keeping everyone updated on our integration process with CBS. And, while it’s still early days, we’ve made some progress that I’m excited to update you on.
First, we recently announced two key ViacomCBS leadership appointments that will go into effect when the deal closes:
Julia Phelps, currently serving as EVP, Communications, Culture and Marketing at Viacom, will be appointed Executive Vice President, Chief Communications and Corporate Marketing Officer, reporting to me. Julia will lead the combined company’s teams across Communications & Corporate Marketing, Corporate Social Responsibility, Special Events and Internal Creative.
Anthony DiClemente, currently serving as EVP, Investor Relations at CBS, will be named Executive Vice President, Investor Relations for ViacomCBS. Anthony will coordinate and oversee outreach to the investment community and will report to Chief Financial Officer Christina Spade.
Both Julia and Anthony are incredibly talented executives who will help to shape our strategy and vision for ViacomCBS, so please join me in congratulating them on their new positions.
Second, I have some more details to share about the team we are forming to guide our integration. We are calling this group our Integration Management Office, or IMO. Made up of representatives from both Viacom and CBS, the IMO will draw from the support of many of you across our organization to ensure that ViacomCBS is ready to operate effectively as a combined company on Day 1.
This team will be run by Viacom’s Chief Transformation Officer Jose Tolosa and CBS’ EVP, Strategic Planning and Development Gautam Ranji. Both Jose and Gautam bring a wealth of experience to their new roles, and they’ve already started working together to make sure this process is thoughtful and balanced. We’ve also hired Bain & Company, a firm with deep expertise in media and integrations to help assist us along the way.
As we’ve said previously, we anticipate the deal will close before the year’s end. We will continue to keep you updated along the way and, in the meantime, please continue your great work.
Best,
Bob
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