After rejecting the idea for weeks on The Young and the Restless, Victor (Eric Braeden) has finally agreed with Adam (Mark Grossman) and put the plans in motion to combine S.N.A. Media with Newman Media. Although perhaps we should say Victor has agreed with Nate’s assessment, as The Mustache didn’t greenlight the idea until he spoke with the former doctor, and Victor is actually folding S.N.A. into Newman Media, not the other way around.
Naturally, Victor’s change of heart about his business plans has all the major players at these companies jocking for the top position of the reimagined Newman Media company. So what will Victor do?
Will he choose someone from the Newman clan, or reward the ambition of Nate (Sean Dominic) or Audra (Zuleyka Silver)? Here is the list of realistic candidates up for the CEO job, and our best guess as to who will wind up sitting in the big chair.
Nate
Considering Victor didn’t make up his mind to fold S.N.A. into Newman Media until after he had a conversation with Nate, this automatically makes Nate a contender for the CEO position. Victor has mentioned how impressed he is with his drive and his analysis of the S.N.A. business plan, pointing out the new company’s weaknesses.
Additionally, the Newman patriarch for some reason thinks that Nate is savvy enough to challenge Adam and perhaps keep him in line to a degree. Victor thought Nick could rein Adam in too, and that clearly didn’t happen, so we aren’t sure of Nate’s ability in that regard.
Another bonus of making Nate the CEO of Newman Media is it takes him away from working directly with Victoria as much in his current role as COO of Newman Enterprises. We’re sure Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) wouldn’t mind him not being in her daughter’s ear as much in the office. Although, she certainly has already expressed her disapproval of Victor rewarding Nate at the company because she doesn’t think he can be trusted.
Audra
Audra is already the CEO of the current Newman Media, and in a conversation with Victor in the episode airing on August 25, Victor assures her that no matter what happens after the merger, she’ll have a position at the company. Then when alone with Nikki, Victor talks about admiring Audra’s ambition and her ability to battle with Adam. Victor even considers mentoring her.
Again, Nikki is not keen on rewarding Audra for her drive, and considers the former Tucker Unlimited exec to be untrustworthy and a possible threat if given too much power.
Adam
Absolutely no one in Genoa City has been more eager to be Newman Media CEO than Adam. He even tried to blackmail his way into the position. Plus, he has experience running the company. Adam is also a very good businessman, which is evidenced by the fact that Victor was able to secure funding from investors for S.N.A. as a standalone company under the premise that Adam was involved in a top spot.
However, Adam ironically may be blocking himself from taking his seat back at Newman Media. Due to his past actions, Victor is a bit wary of whether or not his son can carry out his vision for the company, or if Adam will again go rogue to do what he wants. Plus, Victor told Adam the week of August 14 that he was on thin ice, so would the patriarch really reward his child with such a coveted position?
Not to mention, the rest of the Newman family would likely be furious with Victor. Victoria (Amelia Heinle) would arguably be the most upset as she’s been championing her father to cut Adam loose from the Newman business brand for a while now.
Nikki
Nikki has been leery of the S.N.A. and Newman Media merger from the very beginning. Additionally, she’s not a fan of any of the three candidates above becoming the CEO of the new version of Newman Media. With that said, she mentioned something in the August 25th episode that gave us pause.
As Victor brags about the good qualities of Nate and Audra and wanting to possibly mentor them, Nikki states, “You will never really be able to trust Audra or Nate. They don’t need mentoring. They need a short leash.”
After the remark, Victor looks a bit thoughtful. Could he think his wife has the stern hand needed to keep Nate, Audra and Adam in check? We think so.
Also, Nikki seems to be the option that would cause the least amount of increased friction among the Newman clan. While Victoria would no doubt miss having her mother as co-CEO of Newman Enterprises, Victoria will also see Nikki besting Adam for the job as a win.
Should this all ring true, will Nate find his dream of running Newman Enterprises with Victoria become a reality? We can only hope Victoria just becomes the sole CEO of the business and Nate retains his current position as COO. Although unlikely, we wouldn’t mind Nick (Joshua Morrow) stepping into the role of co-CEO if the job has to be filled.
Brand-new episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus.
