WarnerMedia Names Ann Sarnoff Chief Executive of Warner Bros.--Update
June 24 2019 - 01:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
AT&T Inc.'s WarnerMedia has tapped BBC Studios-Americas
President Ann Sarnoff to lead Warner Bros., the iconic movie and
television studio.
As chairwoman and chief executive, Ms. Sarnoff will oversee
business operations for one of the entertainment industry's most
prolific and powerful content producers. Both the movie studio and
the television unit have strong records for hit films and
movies.
Ms. Sarnoff will report to WarnerMedia Chief Executive John
Stankey.
She will be the first woman to lead the storied Warner Bros.
operation. Her appointment comes after some employees at
WarnerMedia raised concerns internally that the top executives Mr.
Stankey had tapped following AT&T's takeover of Time Warner
Inc. were all men.
Ms. Sarnoff replaces Kevin Tsujihara, who resigned in March
following an investigation into an extramarital relationship he had
with an actress in 2013 in which he said in text messages that he
would inquire about roles for her at Warner. Mr. Tsujihara
apologized to employees for his conduct and said his leadership had
become a distraction to the company.
Ms. Sarnoff, who is 57 years old, has held several senior
positions in media and sports. Prior to the BBC, where she has
worked for nearly a decade, her titles included executive vice
president at Viacom Inc.'s Nickelodeon and chief operating officer
of the Women's National Basketball Association. She also was a top
executive at Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Co.
WarnerMedia is betting her mix of experience will help it
navigate in TV and movie industries increasingly dominated by
streaming media.
In a statement, Mr. Stankey said Ms. Sarnoff "brings a
consistent and proven track record of innovation, creativity and
business results to lead an incredibly successful studio to its
next chapter of growth."
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 24, 2019 13:33 ET (17:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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