Paramount Skydance has hired Ted Lehman, who has more than 20 years of experience on Capitol Hill and the private sector, as Senior Vice President, head of U.S. public policy and government affairs.
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| Courtesy of Paramount Skydance |
Lehman will lead the media company’s Washington, D.C., office, in charge of all aspects of Paramount’s U.S. public policy. He starts Monday, February 2 and reports to chief legal officer Makan Delrahim, who joined the company last fall, along with the international policy and government affairs team.
Lehman joins the company after the departure of DeDe Lea, the longtime head of global public policy and government relations. When Delrahim was named chief legal officer in September, his responsibilities included oversight of Paramount’s government relations and lobbying team.
Lehman will “ensure we continue to be a proactive voice with U.S. lawmakers, regulators and other important stakeholders,” Delrahim wrote in a memo to staff Friday, January 30. Most recently, Lehman served as a partner at Todd Strategy Group, described as a bipartisan public policy and advocacy firm, where he advised media and technology companies as well as clients in other sectors. He had served as a strategic adviser to Paramount over the past few months.
Paramount’s hiring of Lehman comes as the company, led by chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Ellison, is waging a hostile takeover bid of Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison and Paramount are looking to derail Netflix’s $83 billion deal to acquire Warner Bros. and HBO Max, and has been pushing the narrative that the Netflix-WB deal would face a high bar for regulatory clearance in the U.S. and abroad.
“I have known Ted for nearly 25 years and know first-hand he is respected by Republicans and Democrats alike,” Delrahim write in the memo. “His well-earned reputation stems from adopting a strategic and creative approach to complex problems – and always with professionalism, respect and integrity… His experience and leadership will serve Paramount incredibly well as we advance our policy objectives.”
Lehman is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, where he also played collegiate soccer. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, while working for the late Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. After graduating from law school, Lehman clerked for Judge Thomas F. Hogan, who was chief judge of the D.C. District Court, before practicing law in the D.C. office of an international law firm. Lehman also previously served as chief of staff to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-SC); chief counsel on nominations for then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA); and counsel to the Judiciary Committee, among other experience.
Delrahim, before joining the company, had advised Skydance on its takeover of Paramount Global (a deal that closed in August). He was formerly an assistant attorney general overseeing the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division during President Trump’s first term.
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