Redstone names new trustees




Thaddeus Jankowski and Jill Krutick have been named to replace Viacom Inc. CEO Philippe Dauman and George Abrams, a Viacom director, as trustees of the trust that will manage Redstone's controlling stake in Viacom and CBS when the media mogul dies or is ruled incompetent.


“Both Jankowski and Krutick are allies” of Redstone's daughter, Shari Redstone,

a




Los Angeles Times




report noted.

Jankowski is executive vice president and general counsel of National Amusements, the Redstone family holding company, and has worked for the family for 35 years, the article said.


“He was a key figure in Shari Redstone's efforts to expand the National Amusements cinemas,” the


LA Times


report said. “At National Amusements, Jankowski reports directly to Shari Redstone.”


Krutick spent 15 years as an analyst at Salomon Smith Barney, where she covered Viacom and other media companies. More recently, she was senior vice president for investor relations at Warner Music Group.

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Dauman and Abrams, who were ousted as trustees and from the National Amusements board, challenged their removal in a lawsuit filed in a Massachusetts court, alleging that Shari Redstone has manipulated her father and orchestrated the changes,

a




Wall Street Journal


article said.


“The appointments had been expected. And the timing is important: Because the Sumner M. Redstone National Amusements Inc. Trust is an irrevocable trust, changes needed to be made before Redstone dies or becomes incapacitated,” the


LA Times


article said. “After that time, no changes can be legally made to the structure of the trust.”


A statement attributed to Sumner Redstone also announced that Shari Redstone's daughter, Kimberlee Korff Ostheimer, has been elected to National Amusements Inc.'s board of directors.



A


Financial Times




report noted

that “with a majority of support on the trust board, [Shari] Redstone will ultimately inherit control of both groups [Viacom and CBS} when her father died.” An unidentified observer told the


FT


, “If she succeeds in changing Sumner's trust, she will forever have unlimited control of these assets.”


In a comment to the


FT,


Rich Greenfield, an analyst at BTIG, predicted that if Shari Redstone gains control of the trust “Philippe Dauman's days are numbered” as Viacom chairman. (Sources:


Los Angeles Times


, May 24, 2016;


Wall Street Journal


, May 25, 2016;


Financial Times


, May 25, 2016.)

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