Philippe Dauman

From Grokipedia

Philippe Pierre Dauman (born March 1, 1954) is an American investment banker and media executive who served as president, chief executive officer, and chairman of Viacom Inc. from September 2006 until August 2016.

Born in New York City to French émigré parents—his father a magazine photographer—Dauman attended the Lycée Français de New York, earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University, and obtained a law degree from Columbia University.

After practicing corporate law, he co-founded DND Capital Partners, a private equity firm, and developed a close professional relationship with Viacom controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone starting in the 1980s, which positioned him for Viacom's top roles amid Redstone's succession planning.

During his decade at Viacom, which owns cable networks like MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount Pictures, Dauman pursued digital content strategies including litigation against YouTube for copyright infringement and oversaw acquisitions, but the company's market value declined sharply from over $20 billion in 2007 to under $10 billion by 2016 amid cord-cutting trends and competition from streaming services.

His tenure concluded in a bitter boardroom and legal clash with Redstone's daughter Shari Redstone, who challenged Sumner's mental competency and sought Viacom-CBS merger; Dauman was removed from Viacom's board and resigned as CEO following a $72 million settlement, after which he received total compensation exceeding $396 million across his Viacom years despite the stock's underperformance.

In brief

Philippe Dauman spent decades inside Sumner Redstone’s orbit, first as the lawyer who knew every deal, then as the chief who had to run the resulting empire.

Paramount, Showtime, and a publisher sat in his in-box. The later succession fight was public. The earlier work was the unglamorous labor of keeping a conglomerate coherent.