Discovery Communications has appointed former Liz Claiborne and General Electric/NBC Universal executive Andrew Warren as its senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, replacing Brad Singer, who previously announced he would leave the company at the end of March.
Warren will join the company March 26, after Singer's exit, and be based at the company's Silver Spring, Md., headquarters.
Warren is leaving Liz Claiborne, Inc., where he has been CFO since 2007. In 2008, he was promoted to executive vice president. In 2010, he was named to the Treasury & Risk list of the "100 Most Influential People in Finance."
Prior to working for Liz Claiborne, he spent 18 years at General Electric, where he held several positions, including and executive vice president and CFO of the NBC Universal Television Group.
Discovery also announced it is reshuffling several executives. Here are the changes, as described in a Discovery release:
David Leavy has been promoted to the position of Chief Communications Officer and Senior Executive Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Affairs, reporting to President and CEO David Zaslav. In his new role, Leavy adds centralized marketing functions, including Corporate Research and Consumer Insights, Media Planning and Partnerships, Corporate Marketing, and Discovery Creative, the company’s in-house creative services group, to his existing responsibilities for Global Communications and Corporate Affairs. The new organization will focus on further amplifying Discovery’s messaging, promotion and research initiatives around the world.
Bruce Campbell, Chief Development Officer and General Counsel, adds Business Affairs and Global Production Management to his portfolio, with Lee Bartlett, Executive Vice President, Global Production Management and Business Affairs reporting to him. Campbell retains his existing responsibilities leading global business development, strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions, and overseeing all legal affairs and litigation for the company. In his expanded role, Campbell will work with Bartlett to continue attracting top producers and on-air talent for Discovery’s networks and increasing the company’s presence in the creative television community.
JB Perrette, Chief Digital Officer, adds oversight of Discovery’s Enterprise Operational Services department to his role as leader of the company's digital strategy, including Discovery's U.S. websites (ex: Discovery.com, TLC.com, and HowStuffWorks.com, etc.), Interactive Technology and Digital Operations and Programming, as well as the company’s digital distribution efforts with non-traditional affiliates (ex: Apple, Netflix, Amazon, etc.). Perrette also is responsible for Discovery Commerce, including Licensing, Home Entertainment and Footage and Music Services. The new structure aligns Discovery’s digital assets, social media platforms and information technology services in a single organization to focus on opportunities presented by emerging technologies.
Luis Silberwasser, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer for Discovery Networks International (DNI), adds U.S. network Velocity to his responsibilities, which also include leading DNI’s production and development unit and overseeing the international rollout of TLC. Bob Scanlon, Senior Vice President of Velocity, now reports to Silberwasser. Together, they will leverage the international appeal of the men’s lifestyle genre to develop content to drive Velocity and other men’s lifestyle brands around the world.
