Warner Bros. Discovery Unveils New International Leadership Following Exodus of Executives
Amid a widespread executive exodus, Warner Bros. Discovery’s international boss Gerhard Zeiler sent out a memo to the staff today laying out the company’s new global leadership structure.
Following France boss Pierre Branco’s exit earlier this week, WBD has tapped Clément Schwebig to oversee France, Benelux, Afrique, Allemagne, Autriche and Suisse. James Gibbons, meanwhile, will now handle Asia and Western Pacific which will be united into a single APAC region. As part of the shuffle, Schwebig and Gibbons will essentially see their scope expanded with more territories to handle.
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Latin America and Poland will continue to be led by Fernando Medin and Kasia Kieli, respectively. The rest of the structure will be unchanged.
Branco is the fourth high-ranking WBD executive to depart in recent months, alongside EMEA boss Priya Dogra, Hannes Heyelmann, who headed Germany, and Robert Blair, the former boss international TV distribution.
Zeiler acknowleged in his memo that the group was “experiencing a difficult macroeconomic situation in combination with an acceleration of the transformational industry trends.”
“This is not an easy situation for any company to manage through, including ours,” Zeiler continued. He added that the company is equipped to thrive thanks to its “clearly defined strategy, the IP we have, and the content we produce.”
Branco had taken the job as France boss a year ago. He was previously country manager for WarnerMedia in France, Benelux, Middle East and Africa and head of affiliates and ad sales for EMEA. A source close to the company said it was Branco’s decision to exit the banner.
The combined Discovery+ and HBO Max platform is expected to launch in several European territories in 2024. Zeiler is set to deliver the first keynote of the Mipcom TV conference in Cannes on Oct. 13 and will likely reveal further details on the roll out.
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