Ramsey Naito Exits Paramount Animation

As Paramount begins cleaning house under new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Ellison, Paramount Animation‘s President Ramsey Naito is the latest to step down from the company.

Ramsey Naito steps down as president of Paramount Animation. | Paramount / Deadline

Naito joined Nickelodeon in 2018, serving as Executive Vice President (EVP) of Animation Production and Development for the Nickelodeon Group, overseeing a renaissance at the studio of animation content and production in scale and creativity. In September 2020, the Oscar^®-nominated producer was upped to President of Nickelodeon Animation, overseeing the network’s animation content across all formats and platforms–spanning linear, digital, TV movies, theatrical motion pictures and SVOD.

Naito added President of Paramount Animation to her title in September 2021, taking over for Mireille Soria, who lead the motion picture studio’s animation arm. Whilst at Paramount Animation, she was tasked with developing Nickelodeon properties into animated pictures. During her run at Paramount Animation, the studio released the Point Grey Pictures’ animated pic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, which grossed closed to $182M worldwide in the summer of 2023 and yielded $1 billion-plus in global retail sales for that calendar year alone, breathing new life into the iconic franchise. Other animated titles released during her run include PAW Patrol: The Movie and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Moviewhich minted close to $350M combined, Transformers One ($129.4M worldwide) and, most recently, Smurfs. Upcoming is The SpongeBob Movie: The Search for SquarePants (Dec. 19), PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (Aug. 14, 2026), The Angry Birds Movie 3 (Dec, 23, 2026), as well as The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender (Oct. 9, 2026) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem 2 (Sept. 17, 2027).

Prior to Nickelodeon, Naito produced DreamWorks Animation’s Oscar-nominated feature, The Boss Babywhile also earning her a PGA nomination for Outstanding Producer of Animated Theatrical Motion Pictures. Prior to DreamWorks Animation, Ramsey worked as a producer for Blue Sky Studios, at Cartoon Network as Head of Movies and at Nickelodeon Movies as Vice President of Development & Production. Her executive and producer credits include: Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009), Barnyard (2006), The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004), The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002), Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002), the Oscar-nominated Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).

Word was in early August that Naito would stay on post–merger to lead Paramount Animation, albeit, stepping down as president of Nickelodeon Animation. Meanwhile, Skydance Animation, under John Lasseter and Holly Edwards, wasn’t merged with Paramount Animation, rather kept separate, as that unit has a Netflix output deal commitment. It’s clear that in the new order of the Ellison-run conglom, he wants a fresh C-suite of executives, read Global Marketing & Distribution Boss Marc Weinstock and Domestic Distribution President—who were behind the success of the studio’s highest grossing movie, Top Gun: Maverick ($1.49 billion)—departed as a new head of worldwide marketing and distribution arrived, that being former Warner Bros and Universal vet, Josh Goldstine.

Naito is part of 1,000 cuts that happened today (Oct. 29) as the new Skydance-owned Paramount looks to achieve $2 billion in savings. Other motion picture exits today include President of Worldwide Music Randy Spendlove, Senior Vice President (SVP) of Production Bryan Oh, EVP of Production Geoff Stier, EVP of Home Entertainment Andres Alvarez, EVP of International Theatrical Marketing Rachel Cadden, SVP of Multicultural Marketing Christine Benitez and SVP of Literary Affairs Phil Cohen.

Below is Naito’s note to staff this evening:

Team,

I want to share with you that I am leaving the company and closing this very special chapter with all of you. Leading this incredible team of talented storytellers, artists and dreamers, and watching the magic that you’ve spun from your imagination and dedication, has been one of the great joys of my career.

I am so proud of the work the animation teams and I have done for the last 8+ years. I am honored to have given new life and love to the beloved characters and stories within the vast Paramount and Nickelodeon libraries—from SpongeBob to PAW Patrol to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—and the birth of a whole new slate of originals for today’s generation.

Not only am I endlessly proud of what we’ve built, but even more so the spirit behind it — the collaboration, creativity, and kindness that define this team. Though I’m moving on, I’ll always be cheering you on (and singing along to the PAW Patrol theme or humming the TMNT riff when I see your work lighting up screens everywhere).

Thank you to Josh, Dana and the fantastic leadership team who I know will keep propelling our animation business to great heights.

With love and appreciation,

Ramsey

Stream a Mountain of Entertainment, including your Nickelodeon favorites on Paramount+! Try it FREE at ParamountPlus.com!

Ramsey Naito Exits Paramount Animation | Deadline

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