Adobe’s succession vote, plus Paramount’s whistleblower, BP’s new CEO, AI’s proxy tilt

Trade Wire - BUY/SELLTOP STORIESproxy countdown_trade wire_2025 - Google Sheets: 44 Filings since March 31THE HEADLINESJeff Shell, president and board director at Paramount Skydance, is stepping down after allegations of SEC violationsShell came under scrutiny after gambler and whistleblower R.J. Cipriani filed a $150M lawsuit alleging Shell shared confidential information in violation of SEC rules.Shell previously left his role as NBCUniversal CEO in 2023 after he admitted to having an “inappropriate relationship” with an employee.The company said it did not find an SEC violation. Paramount added in a statement that the claims were “baseless” and said Shell is taking “forceful legal action.”His future at Paramount has been in question since the company beat Netflix&nbsp; in a bidding war in February to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery The acquisition of WBD will bring in many new executives, and Shell, who was not involved in deal talks, didn’t have a defined role at a combined company, CNBC reported last month.Yesterday, a Separation Agreement was announced: Shell will be getting approximately $16M:$5M Cash Severance ($3.5M salary + $1.5M bonus)$11M Equity Acceleration (1,000,000 shares @ $10.95=$10.95M)12 months of COBRA benefits COBRA/Subsidies ~$30,000According to the agreement: “The Executive shall not issue a press statement announcing about the separation without the advance approval of the Company” and “Nothing contained in this Agreement shall be deemed or construed as an admission of wrongdoing or liability on the part of the Company or of the Executive”BP's new CEO Meg O'Neill began her stint on April 1st. She is BP's fourth CEO since 2020 and its first external hire for the role in more than a century. She is the first woman to lead a top-five oil major.Two OpenAI Execs Are Going on Medical LeaveThe company’s chief marketing officer Kate Rouch is reportedly stepping down to recover from cancer.And Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of artificial general intelligence development — and arguably one of the AI company’s most important cogs — is taking medical leave.“For my entire time here, I’ve postponed medical tests and new therapies to stay completely focused on the job and not miss a single day of work”DOWN TO 2FGlobal Net Leas: P. Sue Perrotty resigning (they also have a M. Therese Antone)Trade Desk:4 directors have left since March 19<p data-rte-preserve-empty="true" style="white