Warner Bros. Discovery Taps Robert Gibbs, Former White House Press Secretary, as Communications Chief

Michaela Zee

18 June 2024 at 1:43 am·1-min read

Warner Bros. Discovery is set to name Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary to former President Barack Obama, as its new communications chief, Variety has confirmed. The company is expected to make the announcement official on Monday, and is believed to have already informed WBD chief David Zaslav’s direct reports with the news.

Gibbs will take over the role from former corporate communications chief Nathaniel Brown, who exited the company in January. The exec will work closely with Zaslav in shaping the company’s corporate messaging and in other arenas. The search for Brown’s replacement took six months as Zaslav was believed to be searching for a major name to fill the role, and sources said the exec believes he’s excited by the pick.

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Gibbs was a longtime senior advisor to Obama and served as his press secretary from 2009 to 2011. He later worked as executive VP and global chief communications officer for McDonald’s from 2015 to 2019.

Gibbs’ most recent role was as a partner at the communications firm Bully Pulpit International. He hosts the podcast “Hacks on Tap” with David Axelrod and Mike Murphy.

Brown was hired in 2019 by Discovery Inc. and, during his tenure, navigated the merger between the company and WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros. Discovery, which closed in April 2022. At the time of his exit, a source told Variety the decision to leave Warner Bros. Discovery was completely mutual between him and CEO David Zaslav.

The Hollywood Reporter was first to report the news.

(Michael Schneider contributed to this report.)

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