Hi everyone!  It has been a momentous few months of team growth and IP success for Skybound. We are at the precipice of a new chapter that promises to bring Skybound to the forefront of entertainment, and we’re doing just that by hiring incredible talent in every department, on top of the world class talent we already have. Meet some of the new faces of Skybound! 

Jeff Chaiken, Head of Corporate Development 

In February, we welcomed Jeff Chaiken as SVP, Head of Corporate Development and Strategy, a new role for the company. Chaiken comes to Skybound with over three decades of experience in M&A, partnerships, and strategy within the media & entertainment and technology sectors, and most recently held the position of Head of Corporate Development and Strategy at Electronic Arts (EA) where he successfully completed transactions expanding EA’s global studio footprint, enhancing EA’s Mobile, Sports, and Entertainment portfolios, and bringing new talent, IP, and technology to the company. Notable transactions include the acquisitions of Respawn Entertainment, the creators of Titanfall, Apex Legends, and Star Wars: Jedi & Fallen Order; Codemasters’ racing portfolio, including the highly acclaimed F1 Racing; and the addition of many other fan favorite games such as Golf Clash, Design Home, Covet Fashion, and Super Mega Baseball.  

Chris Paulson, EVP & GM, Games Publishing 

Former Activision Blizzard executive Chris Paulson has joined the company (beginning April 29) as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Games Publishing and will lead the commercial strategy and go-to-market efforts for Skybound’s ambitious slate of games. Paulson’s decade long career in games publishing at Activision Blizard spanned more than a dozen launches including record-breaking game launches for Diablo IV,  which delivered $666 million in the games’ first five days; Diablo Immortal, the biggest launch in the franchise’s history with 10 million installs in the first week; and World of Warcraft: Shadowlands, the fastest selling PC game of all time (3.7 million launch day copies).  

Ben Abernathy, Executive Editor 

Long time DC staple Ben Abernathy has joined as Executive Editor, overseeing the Energon Universe, as well as a developing a new slate of original projects from comics’ top creators. Prior to joining Skybound, Abernathy was an Executive Editor at DC Comics, personally overseeing the entire Batman family line of titles as well as assembling their 2024 Elseworlds imprint relaunch. Skybound is the latest step in a career spanning over two decades, with stops at Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, and more.  

Brent Jacoby, Unscripted TV 

Introducing a BRAND new vertical to Skybound is Brent Jacoby, head of Unscripted television. Jacoby brings with him to Skybound extensive experience in premium formats and docu-series, having delivered high value unscripted projects for networks like Netflix, D+, History, CNBC, A&E, E!, Oxygen, and MAX. At Catalina Content, he was responsible for overseeing all development of pilots and series where he developed non scripted projects for Peacock, CNBC, A&E, Oxygen, TruTV, Lifetime, as well as developing the critically acclaimed series The Mighty Underdogs, on Discovery+. Prior to that Jacoby lead the development team for ITV America’s Outpost Entertainment where he developed projects for History, Discovery, A&E, Food Network and Science Channel, including History’s Knife or Death. 

Chris Goble, Scripted TV 

Goble comes to Skybound most recently from Amazon’s Prime Video via the MGM merger, where he joined the tentpole, genre, and universe group under Matt King (known for BUTTERFLY, CRIMINAL, DUNE: PROPHECY). During his tenure at Prime Video, he oversaw CRIMINAL by Ed Brubaker and co-showrunner Jordan Harper, as well as several high-profile MGM titles, like Robocop.