Sumner Redstone displayed little public responsibility to anything more than the transient stock price He fired very able CEOs, including Frank Biondi and Tom Freston, as well as Mel Karmazin, who initiated the merger with CBS, giving Redstone control of both media giants. Until recently, he supported Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, whose compensation included hundreds of millions of dollars, while the company deteriorated. Redstone's long-estranged, now reconciled, daughter wants to maintain family control by re-merging Viacom and CBS, which has been brilliantly led by Les Moonves. Ms.