Rick Baker is Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel, Distribution, Business & Legal Affairs at Paramount. He oversees business & legal affairs for Paramount’s domestic distribution business with respect to Paramount’s linear and streaming portfolio, including all domestic broadcast and cable networks, P+, Pluto, BET+ and Noggin – and assumed this role in December 2019 following the merger between Viacom and CBS Corporation. Baker is responsible for guiding the development and execution of legal strategy in negotiating distribution agreements and managing partnerships to strengthen and evolve the distribution of Paramount’s linear and streaming portfolio. Baker has been recognized as a leading lawyer in the industry including as a Cablefax Top Lawyer and as a recipient of ACLU’s Pro Bono Award for his legal victory challenging a school district that refused to allow student journalists to publish a series of articles about the struggles of LGBTQ students in rural California. Since 2017 and prior to the merger, Baker led business and legal affairs for Viacom’s domestic distribution business across linear, content licensing and direct-to-consumer businesses including Pluto. Baker joined Viacom in 2011 after previously serving in executive positions at Lifetime Networks and as a litigation associate at Milbank Tweed. He received his JD from the UCLA School of Law and a BA in Political Science from Yale College. He resides in Katonah, NY with his husband and twin children.