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BFD Expert Voices - Media Deals

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Will Lewis was named the new CEO of The Washington Post. Ramin Beheshti will succeed Lewis as interim CEO of social publisher The News Movement, Adweek reports. https://axios.link/49VvWOg

Edward Fletcher was named CEO of Curzon, a U.K.-based theater chain and distributor. https://axios.link/3SrVe09

Denise Dresser, a longtime Salesforce executive, was named CEO of Slack, replacing Lidiane Jones. https://axios.link/3QCI8e3

Nick Poole was named CEO of the U.K. video game trade body Ukie, effective April 1. https://axios.link/3QFGuZb

Leon Wilson was named CEO of Banijay UK labels Shine TV and Zeppotron. https://axios.link/3QYv1oG

Jennifer van Dijk was named CEO of Superplastic, a social media-driven character design studio and art toy maker. Brian Scotto is joining as chief creative officer. https://axios.link/47FAGWu

Karen Rundlet was named CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News after eight years at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. https://axios.link/3GsnSqw

Jason Eustace was named CFO of Plex. He was previously CFO at Infinite Reality and CuriosityStream. https://axios.link/47ftS1A

Felicia DellaFortuna was named CFO of Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. She spent the past eight years at BuzzFeed, serving as CFO since 2020. Alex Macdonald will serve in a strategic advisory role. https://axios.link/47w04O5

Chris Lucarz, former NBCUniversal executive, was named CFO of RWS Global, a live experiences production company. https://axios.link/467X75r

Lindsay Pattison was named global chief people officer of WPP. She served as global chief client officer since 2018. https://axios.link/46Po7HS

Philip Bell was named chief commercial officer of Malta-based iGaming operator PressEnter Group. https://axios.link/3QEMRf6

Avi Zimak joined Perion Network as chief growth officer. He was most recently chief revenue and strategy officer of The Arena Group. https://axios.link/47k1R9u

Steven Wolfe Pereira was named chief client officer at TelevisaUnivision's U.S. ad sales unit. https://axios.link/3QXNq3O

Mina Lefevre is joining Alex Cooper's Trending as chief content officer of television. https://axios.link/40UPRc9

Peter Kafka, formerly with Vox Media, joined Business Insider as chief correspondent, covering business, tech and media. He was the first hire at BI predecessor Silicon Alley Insider in 2007. https://axios.link/3R9v1m1

Dave Filoni, showrunner for Disney+'s "The Mandalorian" and "Ahsoka," was named chief creative officer at LucasFilm, he told Vanity Fair. https://axios.link/3Gb35b6

Peter Stone, a Netflix veteran, was named chief marketing officer for Moonbug Entertainment. https://axios.link/47NFvwS

Dave O'Connor was named president of Time's production arm, Time Studios. https://axios.link/3QjkG56

Scott Havens, former CEO of Bloomberg Media, was named president of business operations for the New York Mets. https://axios.link/3GiVdEl

Brian Ellner, who previously led U.S. public affairs at WPP, was hired as president of corporate strategy firm One Strategy Group, Axios Communicators' Eleanor Hawkins wrote. https://axios.link/410qJRk

Robin Schwartz was named president of television for FilmNation Entertainment. https://axios.link/3N65szU

Ian Moffitt joined IMG as SVP of business development, following his exit from BBC Studios earlier this year. https://axios.link/3tWHXT0

Kristine Coratti Kelly, former comms chief of CNN and The Washington Post, joined D.C.-based comms and government relations firm Invariant as SVP and head of its New York office. https://axios.link/3FGUBrY

Kathryn Thal, formerly VP at Black Bear, was named SVP of development and production for "CODA" producer Vendôme Pictures. https://axios.link/3SFAwdp

Bernadette Simpao, former Apple and AMC Networks PR executive, joined NBCUniversal Media Group as SVP of strategic communications, focusing on Peacock. https://axios.link/47I942U

Josh Clark joined Major League Baseball as SVP of content distribution. https://axios.link/40MSWLg

Stacy Rader joined CBS Media Ventures as SVP of first-run development and brand extensions. https://axios.link/46Bsup9

Jeannie Kedas was named SVP of publicity and communications at ABC News. https://axios.link/49WVSsR

Dave Carey joined S4Capital's operating brand Media.Monks as global EVP studios and embedded solutions to lead the Studio.Monks. https://axios.link/49pfiGs

Michael Fischer, formerly EVP, business development at AirKast, joined SoundStack as VP of business development. https://axios.link/40Dc1iJ

Thomas Ferguson, formerly of Endemol Shine North America, was hired as VP of product licensing at Penske Media Corporation. https://axios.link/3sQIOnY

Alan Miller, co-founder of Activision, joined Mob Entertainment as VP of analytics and business intelligence. https://axios.link/3MLH6eF

Hillary Kupferberg was named VP of performance marketing at ad agency Exverus. She was previously the director of digital at PHD. https://axios.link/3MWXdWQ

Dan Berger, EVP of marketing and communications at Amblin, will join Amazon as their VP of global media and entertainment communications. https://axios.link/4a0z2AE

Scott Landsman joined Dwayne Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions as head of television and Melissa Fried as VP of film development and production. https://axios.link/49M3tdO

Michael Day joined Yale Productions as head of production. https://axios.link/3sn17Rt

Michelle Mendelovitz was named head of television studios at Mattel. She was most recently executive producer at Hillary and Chelsea Clinton's production company HiddenLight. https://axios.link/3sNq6h1

Tom Williams, formerly Europe commissioner of Apple TV+, will become head of development, drama at BBC Studios Drama Productions. https://axios.link/3SHWRqK

Sheree Cohen, formerly of A3 Artists Agency, joined management and production company Mainstay Entertainment as a partner. https://axios.link/40qU2fu

Richard Knight, head of podcasts at Amazon's Wondery U.K., was named director of audio for BBC Studios Productions. https://axios.link/3Sw3yMn

Sam Griffel joined Elevate Entertainment as the director of development. He previously worked in original programming and development at Spotify. https://axios.link/3u1Kbke

Tolu Adeofe, formerly senior manager of investor relations and head of ESG reporting at Lyft, was named director of investor relations at Grindr. https://axios.link/3QXlLBg

Eric Tan was hired as director of content sales Asia and David Newton as director of business strategy for Lightning International, the Hong Kong- and U.K.-based content distribution and solutions company. https://axios.link/3GqoEnX

Scott Metzger joined Untitled Entertainment as a manager. He spent the past three years in CAA's Motion Picture Talent Department. https://axios.link/3SDstgU

Sean Marshall, former SVP of global sales at Klaviyo, joined Asymmetric Capital Partners as an entrepreneur-in-residence. https://axios.link/3FKYYlY

Jessica Morgulis, formerly with Authentic Talent, joined Entertainment 360. https://axios.link/49rrJRY

Bryan West was hired as the Taylor Swift reporter for Gannett, working out of the Tennessean's newsroom. https://axios.link/49qKAwD

Caché McClay, a multimedia reporter, will cover a new beat focused on Beyoncé at the Tennessean and USA TODAY Network. https://axios.link/46iM0X7

Elizabeth Wagmeister, formerly chief correspondent of Variety, joined CNN as an LA-based entertainment correspondent. https://axios.link/3N4RXk3

Jenna Faville, formerly creative executive at Big Picture Co., was hired to lead development at Plucky Pictures. https://axios.link/3R63KAG

💼 New hires

Cris Abrego, chairman of Banijay Americas, was elected chairman of the Television Academy. https://axios.link/47HOZJQ

James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, and Jeremy Darroch, former Sky CEO, will join the board of Disney in early 2024. Francis A. deSouza, former president and CEO of Illumina, will not stand for re-election. https://axios.link/3Ra9qc2

🗳️ Elections and appointments

Stephan Schmitter was promoted from chief content officer to CEO of RTL Deutschland, effective Jan. 1. https://axios.link/47bFZNi

Lauren Stein was promoted from head of drama to head of creative at Sony Pictures Television Studios. https://axios.link/40przGV

Kasia Jablonska was promoted to director of digital and on-demand for EMEA at BBC Studios. https://axios.link/47BSp0Z

Jessica Probus, SVP of editorial at BuzzFeed, was promoted to publisher as Dao Nguyen leaves the company after 11 years. https://axios.link/3sDu1gu

Andrew Plotkin was promoted to head of drama development at Sony Pictures Television. https://axios.link/46pIJFw

Kate Nexon was promoted to president, domestic TV and digital distribution at Lionsgate. https://axios.link/3QYlrkF

Brooke Jaffe was promoted to SVP, public affairs and strategy at Penske Media Corp. https://axios.link/3R8EXfy

Jeff Grossman was promoted to EVP, programming for Paramount+. Amy Kuessner was named EVP, programming for sister streaming service, Pluto TV. https://axios.link/47R4Kyn

Lucas Kosoglad was promoted to partner at talent agency Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment. https://axios.link/46yOhxI

📢 Promotions

Thai Randolph will exit as CEO of Hartbeat, Kevin Hart's production and media company, to "pursue new endeavors." She will remain an adviser to Hart, who will serve as interim CEO. https://axios.link/3u63lVO

Heather Dietrick will exit as CEO of The Daily Beast at the end of the year to join Outside Interactive as chief media officer. https://axios.link/3MpYCow

Alex Vargas is out as CEO of Recurrent Ventures after one year in the role, Adweek reports. He will be replaced by Andrew Perlman, a co-founder of the media company, who will be the firm's third CEO in three years. https://axios.link/49iJrav

Henry Blodget is stepping down as CEO of Insider and will transition to board chairman. Barbara Peng will succeed as CEO. https://axios.link/3sBsGGX

Jeff Rosica announced he will retire as CEO of Avid in the first half of 2024, days after the media editing software company was acquired by an STG affiliate. https://axios.link/40R08Gl

Hugh Johnston, will leave his CFO role at PepsiCo and join Disney as senior EVP and CFO. He begins Dec. 4. https://axios.link/3MxPpKG

Jason Wagenheim will leave as CRO of Bustle owner BDG Media to lead the expansion of Footballco as its first-ever CEO of North America. https://axios.link/47nwZVg

Adria Alpert Romm will retire as chief people and culture officer of Warner Bros. Discovery at the end of June. She will be replaced by WPP's Jennifer Remling, who will join in January. https://axios.link/45Tda6W

Rich Jaroslovsky, VP of content and chief journalist at SmartNews, will step down from a full-time role at the end of the year. https://axios.link/45WS0VA

Scott Shleifer will step down as head of private equity at Tiger Global, one of the most active investors in tech "unicorns," Lucinda Shen and Dan Primack reported. https://axios.link/3sRkMt1

CJ Yu is stepping down as head of unscripted development, global formats at Amazon Studios. https://axios.link/47zXdEp

Risa Gertner, longtime CAA agent, will retire from the firm after 27 years in January. https://axios.link/3Go2ras

Masami Yamamoto will leave NBCUniversal at the end of the year after 23 years, where she most recently served as president, business operations for Universal Studio Group. https://axios.link/47Te7gU

OpenAI shakeup: Ousted CEO Sam Altman and former president Greg Brockman will join Microsoft to lead a new research unit. Former Twitch CEO Emmett Shear replaced CTO Mira Murati as interim CEO of OpenAI. https://axios.link/3MTnllf

Condé Nast will cut 5% of its workforce, about 270 employees. https://axios.link/3FHfnry

NBCUniversal laid off about 50 employees across Peacock marketing, entertainment and ad sales. https://axios.link/4668cUs

Vice Media Group laid off under 100 staffers as it ends production of some shows and consolidates its businesses from five to two. https://axios.link/3QEvKdu

Unity Software plans to cut 265 jobs, 3.8% of its workforce. https://axios.link/3QZqmBK

The BBC plans to cut 127 jobs across BBC News and Current Affairs yet add 147 digital-focused roles. https://axios.link/47Tdq7i

🛫 Departures and layoffs

Mike Breen signed a multiyear extension with ESPN to continue as the network's lead play-by-play NBA announcer. https://axios.link/45SNSFZ

Chen Shaojie, chairman and CEO of Chinese video game livestreaming platform DouYu, was arrested. https://axios.link/3sJXRzR

Jeff Shell, former NBCUniversal CEO, is in talks to join RedBird Capital Partners to lead its sports and entertainment investment business, per WSJ. https://axios.link/47UhDrg

Jonny Bauer, head of Blackstone's brand strategy group, is spinning out his full team to launch a brand agency that will include former J.Crew president Jenna Lyons as executive creative director. https://axios.link/41erial

Ryan Seacrest extended his contract with iHeartMedia through the end of 2027 with a new three-year deal. https://axios.link/47Depsu

Mark Cuban plans to leave ABC's "Shark Tank" in 2025. https://axios.link/3RiNWe0

Sean "Diddy" Combs "temporarily stepped aside" as chairman of Revolt, the music-focused TV network he co-founded in 2013, amid multiple sexual assault lawsuits against him. https://axios.link/3sQENQH

🔔 Announcements

Volatility in the ad market has prompted media companies to shed jobs, Axios' Kerry and Sara Fischer wrote. Nearly 20,000 jobs have been eliminated across the media industry this year as of October, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

That's more than six times the number of job cuts compared to 2022 so far this year.

Recurrent Ventures, Bloomberg Industry Group, Vice Media Group, G/O Media Group, CNBC Digital, Condé Nast and the Washington Post have all enacted or announced layoffs since October. 

📰 In the news

Welcome to the first weekend of December. Axios Pro Deals research associate Natalie Breymeyer here, with your monthly recap of who's working where now.

Did you or a friend recently change jobs? Tell us! Get wind of layoffs somewhere? Tell us! How do you tell us? Reply to this email.

You can skim below to find New hires; Elections and appointments; Promotions; and Departures.

📥 Your opinion matters to us. Please share your thoughts by replying to this email!

There you have it. Make sure to continue sending us your personnel-related news throughout the month.

🌞 Natalie was able to take a long weekend in November to visit the San Juan Islands with friends, where she enjoyed unseasonably sunny weather and lots of good food.

December 02, 2023

💼 New hires