WarnerMedia’s new CEO, Jason Kilar, portended a management shake-up Friday that promotes its streaming executive Andy Forssell to lead a new HBO Max operating business module. Kilar also announced layoffs, and the departure of some top executives.
Amid the changes, Kilar announced in an email to wage-earners obtained by CNBC that three executives would be departing the company: WarnerMedia Entertainment and direct-to-consumer Chairman Bob Greenblatt, glad chief and TBS, TNT and TruTV President Kevin Reilly, and Keith Cocozza, executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications.
This is Kilar’s in front move to reorganize AT&T’s WarnerMedia in his vision since he began as CEO in May, succeeding former executive John Stankey, who is now CEO of AT&T. Under Stankey, Greenblatt was put in assess of WarnerMedia’s entertainment direct-to-consumer businesses in March 2019. The management shuffle is an early indication of how the Hulu co-founder and whilom CEO plans to shape up the business to compete in the streaming wars.
In his email to employees, Kilar said the changes were meant to relieve WarnerMedia successfully reach consumers amid accelerated direct-to-consumer demand during the coronavirus pandemic. That entangles expanding HBO Max’s “scope globally,” simplifying studio organization and consolidating international units and commercial activities.
Warner Bros. Chair and CEO Ann Sarnoff will-power lead the company’s new studios and networks group that will streamline production and programming that currently intervals Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max, TNT, TBS and TruTV, according to the email. Under her leadership, HBO Programming President Casey Bloys will add starting content responsibilities for HBO Max, TNT, TBS and TruTV.
Chief Revenue Officer Gerhard Zeiler will now lead WarnerMedia’s newly meshed international operations for Warner Bros., HBO and Turner Networks. Otter CEO Tony Goncalves will lead a new unit unifying U.S. ad sales and distribution with home entertainment and content licensing. And Chief Enterprise Inclusion Officer Christy Haubegger discretion add oversight of the global marketing and communications team to her duties.
Here’s the full letter Kilar sent to WarnerMedia hands:
Team-
It has been a little over 90 days since I joined the mission and the team. These past three months have in the offing exceeded my already high expectations. As I shared with you recently, my bullishness about our future has only grown as I partake of gotten to know you much better and as I have gotten to know our company much better. As some of you may recall, I pieced three thoughts with you on my first day email:
1. That history was filled with examples of special entrepreneurial theatre troupes that leaned into moments of great change in order to better serve customers.
2. That our taking tuned in and bold risks is so important to the road ahead. And,
3. My belief that missionary companies ultimately shine…and my strong principles that ours is a team filled with missionaries.
With the above as context, I’d like to share some purposes I am announcing today that represent our leaning into this great moment of change, in order to better offer our customers. These changes, which are neither timid nor without risk, are possible in part because we are missionaries that essentially believe we can and will change the world through story.
That is what this all comes back to.
Because of the contribution that is the internet, we have what I believe is one of the greatest opportunities in the history of media, which is to deliver our beloved features and experiences directly to hundreds of millions of consumers across the globe. Earning this ambitious future won’t come trusting. To do so, I believe it is vital that we change how we are organized, that we simplify, and that we act boldly and with urgency. The pandemic’s remunerative pressures and acceleration of direct-to-consumer streaming adoption places an even higher premium on these points.
To accomplish this, we are contemporary to do the following:
1. We are elevating HBO Max in the organization and expanding its scope globally.
2. We are simplifying how we organize our studios.
3. We are creating a consolidated International constituent focused on scale and efficiency.
4. We are bringing our key commercial activities into one group to allow us to operate more strategically.
5. We are making other structural variations that will help us operate more effectively and efficiently.
Andy Forssell, General Manager of HBO Max, will now be greatest a newly created HBO Max operating business unit and report to me. Andy and his team will be responsible for the product, marketing, consumer battle and global rollout of HBO Max.
Ann Sarnoff, Warner Bros. Chair and CEO, will be leading our newly created Studios and Networks Number, combining original production (content studios) and programming capabilities currently spread across Warner Bros., HBO, HBO Max, TNT, TBS and TruTV. This group when one pleases oversee all WarnerMedia television series and motion picture development, production and programming, partnering with Andy to assure HBO Max is successful globally.
• Casey Bloys, President HBO Programming, will also be taking on original content responsibilities for HBO Max and the family linear networks TNT, TBS, and TruTV. Casey will report to Ann. Casey and the HBO team have done an incredible job over the final several decades delighting consumers with HBO original programming and I am excited for Casey and this expanded team to compel ought to an even greater impact on the world.
• The Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Group continues to be led by Chairman Toby Emmerich. Warner Bros. Box Studios group continues to be led by Chairman Peter Roth. Warner Bros. Interactive remains part of the Studios and Networks guild, along with our Global Brands and Franchises team including DC led by Pam Lifford, and our Kids, Young Adults and Classics establishment led by Tom Ascheim, all focused on engaging fans with our brands and franchises through games and other interactive experiences.
Gerhard Zeiler, currently Chief Returns Officer, will now be leading a newly integrated international group comprised of the international operations of Warner Bros., HBO and Turner Networks. This order will be responsible for local execution of all WarnerMedia linear businesses, commercial activities, and regional programming for HBO Max.
Tony Goncalves, CEO of Otter and a key ruler of HBO Max, will lead the new commercial unit that combines the U.S. advertising sales and distribution groups with our home pleasure and content licensing so that all commercial activities are strategically managed across internal and external customers.
Christy Haubegger, Chief Boldness Inclusion Officer, will now also oversee the global marketing and communications team including branding and corporate sexually transmitted responsibility, as we bring together all of our efforts around equity and inclusion throughout our business.
Jeff Zucker continues as Chairman of WarnerMedia Rumour and Sports. Pascal Desroches (CFO), Rich Tom (CTO), Jim Cummings (CHRO), Priya Dogra (EVP, Strategy and Corporate Development) andJim Meza (EVP, Miscellaneous Counsel) continue to report to me.
Simplifying our approach and narrowing our focus goes beyond, for example, having one content systematizing vs two. It also means that we will be reducing the size of our teams, our layers, and our overall workforce. These reductions are not in any way a image of the quality of the people impacted nor their work. It is simply a function of the above changes I believe are necessary for WarnerMedia and our collective capacity to best serve customers. This is the part that is painful and very hard. It is difficult to find the appropriate disputes here to say other than that I am very sorry. These are talented, admired leaders and beloved colleagues.
Three of those crackerjack, admired leaders who will be leaving the company are Bob Greenblatt, Kevin Reilly and Keith Cocozza. I want to thank Bob and Kevin for arrive at us to this point with the integration of HBO and the legacy Turner Networks and launch of HBO Max. It has been such an impressive sequence of issues, and we are so much better for it. I also owe a tremendous amount of gratitude and thanks to Keith, for not only helping me navigate these at length few months at the company – and with the media – but more importantly for his 19 years at the company through its evolution. I have not under any condition met a kinder, more collaborative executive in my career. I can’t wait to see how each of these leaders change the world in the years to prove to be c finish.
I realize this is a lot to take in. And none of us should expect the above changes to be easy. That said, we are successfully navigating a pandemic together and I identify that, however challenging the above changes may be, we will also successfully navigate them as well. As each of you memorandum of some time to digest the above, I hope that you become more and more energized by how, together, we are boldly bias into the future and this historic opportunity that is right in front of us. It is an honor to be on this team with each of you.
This life story is developing. Check back for updates.
— CNBC’s Julia Boorstin and Alex Sherman contributed to this report.
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