Core Overview

  • Naveen Chopra, the CFO leaving Paramount Global, will receive a $6 million cash bonus when he officially assumes the top financial role at the immersive gaming platform Roblox, according to a securities filing submitted Tuesday. The San Mateo, California-based gaming platform said Chopra is scheduled to start as its chief financial officer on June 30.
  • The bonus Chopra, 51, will receive from his new employer includes a $3 million cash signing bonus, which will vest and be paid in installments over three years, and another $3 million signing bonus that Roblox said will be "earned at a rate of 1/36th for each month of service completed." Additionally, his compensation package includes an annual base salary of $735,000.
  • Paramount, the New York-based media and entertainment group, said in a press release Monday that Andrew Warren, currently a strategic advisor to the Office of the CEO, will serve as interim CFO following Chopra's departure. Paramount said Chopra will officially step down on June 27 after serving as the company's finance chief for four years.

In-Depth Analysis

According to the filing submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the incoming finance chief will also receive a restricted stock unit award valued at $28 million. The filing also shows that Roblox has reserved a temporary housing allowance of $15,000 per month for him, which continues until August 31, 2026, and has arranged relocation expenses of up to $900,000 for the new CFO.

Roblox said in Tuesday's filing that Chopra will succeed Michael Guthrie as CFO of the platform that allows users to program and play games. The company said Guthrie will remain for one month to provide "transitional advisory services" to Roblox.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Chopra, who has held positions at major companies such as Amazon and music streaming service Pandora, has served as CFO of Paramount Global since August 2020. Before joining Paramount, he served as CFO of the devices and services division at e-commerce company Amazon and previously held the roles of CFO and interim CEO at Pandora. Additionally, he held various executive positions during a 13-year career at TiVo.

The CFO appointment comes as Roblox seeks to attract new users. The company reported a surge in daily active users for the first quarter of 2025, which ended March 31. According to its earnings report released May 8, DAU reached 97.8 million in the quarter, up 26% year-over-year.

Roblox also reported first-quarter revenue of just over $1 billion, up 29% year-over-year, and bookings rose 31% year-over-year to $1.2 billion.

Despite its recent growth, Roblox has struggled to demonstrate its profitability potential to investors. The company reported a consolidated net loss of $216.3 million for the first quarter of 2025, while its consolidated net loss for the full year 2024 was just over $940 million, according to its earnings report.

The company has also faced questions about platform safety, particularly concerning use by children: In October, the now-defunct short-seller Hindenburg Research released a report accusing the platform of both inflating its user numbers and being "a pedophile hellscape" for children.

Questions about platform safety have recurred among parents and other users. Digital behavior research firm Revealing Reality reported that the platform's current safety measures have "limited effectiveness," as reported by The Guardian in April.

On the Paramount side, the CFO change comes as the entertainment platform seeks to navigate its own challenges. In April of last year, Paramount restructured its executive leadership and is now co-led by three executives in the Office of the CEO—George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy, and Brian Robbins.

Chopra's departure comes as Paramount prepares to cut approximately 3.5% of its U.S. workforce, according to an internal company memo reported by CNBC on Tuesday. Last year, Paramount cut approximately 15% of its workforce in three phases as part of its strategy to reduce annual costs by $500 million, CNBC reported at the time.

These cost-cutting measures also come as Paramount continues to seek approval for its stalled $8 billion merger with Skydance. The merger also faces an ongoing $20 billion lawsuit filed by U.S. President Donald Trump against the "60 Minutes" program.

Both Roblox and Paramount declined to comment beyond their press releases.