Bob Bakish, president and CEO of Paramount Global, has been named the personality of the year for the upcoming Mipcom Cannes television confab, which runs October 16-19.
Bakish will receive the honor on Tuesday, October 17 at the Grand Palais des Festivals in Cannes after a keynote session in which he discusses Paramount Global’s strategy and key trends shaping the industry.
Bakish has led Paramount since 2019 and has overseen the studio’s transformation through the merger of Viacom and CBS, overseeing a portfolio of companies in more than 180 countries, including the Paramount Pictures film studio; television networks CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central, BET, Channel 5 in the UK, Network 10 in Australia and Telefe in Argentina; leading streaming services Paramount+ and Pluto TV; and the Paramount Pictures movie studio.
Like all studio heads, Bakish was at the center of Hollywood’s double strikes. In May, shortly after the Writers Guild of America went on strike, during a corporate earnings call, he explained how Paramount had prepared for the possibility of labor action and outlined how the studio’s string of new releases, large library and strong offshore production activities, it would help to get through the work stoppage.
Lucy Smith, director of Mipcom Cannes, announced the personality of the year, saying that Bakish “personifies exemplary leadership in these transformative times. Perhaps most ‘important’ to all attending Mipcom Cannes is Bob’s market-leading growth strategy, which involves international third-party licenses not only coexist, but flourish as business models under one global media company, equipping Paramount for the next era, and our 2023 Personality of the Year award could not be more timely or relevant.”
Bakish said he was “deeply honored” to receive the Personality of the Year award at what he called a “turning point in the media”. the world.”
Since 1989, Mipcom has recognized “pioneering visionaries, icons and innovators” in the global television industry with its Personality of the Year award. Past accolades include Bob Greenblatt, Issa Rae, David Zaslav, Shonda Rhimes, Dana Walden, Simon Cowell and Jeffrey Katzenberg.
