| Jeff Shell | |
| Birth Place: | Michigan, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Media executive |
| CEO, NBCUniversal (2019–2023)President, New Paramount (upcoming role) | |
| Education: | University of California, Berkeley (BS) Harvard Business School (MBA) |
| Spouse: | Laura Fay Shell |
| Relatives: | Dana Shell Smith (sister) |
Jeff Shell is an American media executive who served as the CEO for NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast, from 2019 to 2023.[1]
Shell is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied economics and applied mathematics, and Harvard Business School, where he received an MBA.[2] He began his career at Salomon Brothers.[2]
In 2001, Shell served as president of FOX Cable Network Group before joining Comcast in 2004, where he was president of Comcast Programming Group. In 2019, it was announced that he would succeed Steve Burke as CEO of NBCUniversal.[3] Shell assumed the role on January 1, 2020, and reported directly to Comcast CEO Brian L. Roberts.[4]
In April 2008, Shell signed an open letter endorsing Barack Obama for the Pennsylvania primary.[5] He was named by President Barack Obama as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors replacing Sony Pictures executive Michael Lynton.[6]
In May 2020, The New York Times reported that Shell was considering replacing CNBC's current primetime offerings of business reality shows with right-wing talk shows, in a bid to appeal to conservative viewers.[7]
On April 23, 2023, Shell was fired from NBCUniversal after an investigation into sexual harassment, which began when a female employee filed a complaint against him.[8] Shell had an extramarital affair with the employee from 2012 to 2021, who was subsequently identified as CNBC reporter Hadley Gamble.[9] Variety reported that the law firm Gibson Dunn was hired to conduct the investigation, and corroborated the complaint after reviewing records of Shell and Gamble's email communications. Shell was then dismissed with cause, and did not receive any severance pay.[9]
On July 7, 2024, Paramount's board approved the deal to merge with Skydance.[10] The deal will close in two phases: first, a group of investors from Skydance will pay $2.4 billion in cash to purchase National Amusements, the parent company of Paramount Global; second, Paramount Global will pay its Class A and Class B stockholders $4.5 billion in cash and shares. In addition, Paramount will add $1.5 billion in primary capital to its balance sheet. The second phase will see an all-stock merger between Skydance Media and Paramount, valued at $4.75 billion. Equity holders in Skydance will get 317 million Class B shares, with a market value of $15 per share. Paramount Global would have 45 days to look for better or matching offers from other bidders before finalizing.[11] [12] If Paramount were to find a better offer, Skydance would be entitled to a $400 million breakup fee payout from the company.[13] David Ellison would become chairman and CEO of the combined company with Shell serving as president.[14]
According to Paramount Global, the merger will inject significant capital into Paramount, helping to address its debt and enabling investments in new content and technologies.[15] It will support Paramount Global's expansion into other entertainment industries, such as animation, sports and video games, where it currently has less presence. Ellison's vision is for the new company "to be both a media and technology enterprise".[16] Skydance will benefit from greater resources and infrastructure, allowing it to produce more large-scale content. Additionally, Skydance will gain from Paramount's brands, intellectual property, and distribution network.[17]
Shell is married to Laura Fay Shell, who worked for Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky as his planning deputy until 2005. His sister is Dana Shell Smith,[18] and his brother is Dan Shell of IMG College.[19]
In 2015, he was awarded the Dorothy and Sherrill C. Corwin Human Relations Award by the American Jewish Committee. Shell is a 2010 inductee into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[20]
In January 2019, Shell, along with Cindy Crawford, her husband Rande Gerber, Michael Meldman, and Jay Sures, announced they would purchase the Beverly Hills deli, Nate 'n Al, to keep its doors open after three generations of family ownership.[21] [22]