Warner Bros. leadership looks very different today than it did one year ago.
The Hollywood studio has transformed to better compete with streaming services like Netflix, including bringing in new management and collapsing some of the walls between divisions of the legacy business.
As part of a massive executive shake-up at parent company WarnerMedia, CEO Jason Kilar combined the company's studios and networks groups in 2020. It brought brands like HBO, Warner Bros., DC Comics, and Cartoon Network under one roof. The shift also served to rally the media company around its now one-year-old streaming service HBO Max.
The new faces behind WarnerMedia's "Studios and Networks group" include former BBC exec Ann Sarnoff, who runs the unit; Casey Bloys, who rose through the HBO ranks to become the content chief for both HBO and HBO Max; and Channing Dungey, a Netflix and ABC alum who leads WarnerMedia's TV studio.
Sarnoff also appointed company veterans like Toby Emmerich to key positions. Emmerich is in charge of the movie studio.
Other company power players departed during the shake-up. They included former HBO Max content chief Kevin Reilly, who was ousted; former TV-studio chair Peter Roth, who retired; and Blair Rich, a rising star in movie marketing who left the company last year.
As the dust settles on Kilar's reorg, we took a close look at how the leadership structure in the content portion of the company has shaped up.
Sarnoff's top deputies in the studios and networks group are (in alphabetical order):
- Tom Ascheim, president, Global Kids, Young Adults, and Classics, who was formerly president of Disney's young-adult network Freeform.
- Casey Bloys, chief content officer, HBO and HBO Max, who was previously a programming exec at HBO during an era that included hits like "Game of Thrones,""Veep," and "Westworld."
- Channing Dungey, chairman, Warner Bros. TV Group, who was a top content exec at Netflix and ABC before joining WarnerMedia to run its TV studio. She replaced retired exec Peter Roth in the role.
- Toby Emmerich, chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group, who has headed Warner Bros. film studios since 2017 and been with the company since 1992.
- David Haddad, president, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, who oversees Warner Bros. video-game franchises tied to brands like Harry Potter and Mortal Kombat.
- Liz Huszarik, chief research officer and EVP, global research and insights, who has been with the company in various research roles since the early 1990s.
- Jay Levine, chief strategy officer and EVP, business operations, a veteran of the company who stepped into his current role in late 2020.
- Pam Lifford, president, Global Brands, Franchises, and Experiences, who is responsible for growing the fan bases for WarnerMedia's various franchises through themed events, experiences, and other touchpoints.
- Brett Weitz, general manager of TNT, TBS, and TruTV, a longtime company executive who is now responsible for WarnerMedia's three entertainment TV networks.
Bloys, the chief content officer for HBO and HBO Max, has also named his lieutenants, who include a mix of seasoned HBO alum and execs from other divisions of the company:
- Nancy Abraham, EVP, HBO Documentaries and Family, who joined the documentary division in 1995 and rose to run the unit alongside Lisa Heller.
- Sarah Aubrey, head, original content, HBO Max, a former TNT exec who, in her current role, has helped develop early successes for HBO Max like "The Flight Attendant."
- Meredith Gertler, EVP, content strategy and planning, HBO and HBO Max, who held various positions at HBO before taking on her expanded mandate.
- Amy Gravitt, EVP, HBO programming, who has overseen HBO comedies such as "Insecure,""The Righteous Gemstones," and "A Black Lady Sketch Show."
- Lisa Heller, EVP, HBO Documentaries and Family, who joined the documentary unit in 2000 and now runs it alongside Abraham.
- Francesca Orsi, EVP, HBO programming, who has overseen such HBO dramas as "Big Little Lies" and "The Leftovers."
- Michael Quigley, EVP and head, content acquisition, who came from the Turner side of the business.
- Nina Rosenstein, EVP, HBO programming, who has overseen HBO series including "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" and various comedy specials.
- Glenn Whitehead, president of business affairs and production at HBO and HBO Max, a longtime HBO exec who was instrumental to coproduction and distribution deals that helped the network land larger scale and international projects like "Chernobyl."
The studios and networks group is also supported by an administrative team that includes:
- Johanna Fuentes, head of communications for studios and networks, who joined WarnerMedia from Showtime in May.
- Ben Hill, head of human resources for studios and networks, who was an HR exec at Turner before taking on the expanded role.
- Jassica Holscott, head of finance for studios and networks, who was previously HBO's financial chief.
- John Rogovin, head of legal for studios and networks, who has been with the studio for more than a decade, and led the legal strategy related to properties including "Superman,""The Hobbit,""The Lord of the Rings."
For more on WarnerMedia's new power structure, explore our interactive org chart:
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