Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. Sets Leadership Team Under Antonio Ruiz

Publish date: 2024-07-25

Warner Bros. Discovery U.K. has set its leadership team under general manager Antonio Ruiz.

Ruiz was appointed general manager for the U.K. and Ireland back in June, reporting into Priya Dogra, president and managing director for EMEA. The executive, who recently relocated from Madrid to London, previously served as general manager for Discovery in Spain, France and Portugal.

Ruiz has now has confirmed his top executives. The team includes:

Clare Laycock – the long-time Discovery executive will now oversee editorial, including local content production, programming and media planning.

Neil Marshall – the veteran Warner Bros. executive will continue oversight of theatrical film distribution and local film production and acquisition.

Alison Morris – the 15-year Warner Bros. executive will oversee TV licensing and digital home entertainment distribution

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Katie Coteman – the long-time Discovery executive will manage ad sales including advertising, digital ad sales, sponsorships and sport solutions

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Alex Foley – the Discovery executive will oversee portfolio planning and insight, and will continue as lead on insights, strategy and retail planning.

Alex Lewis – the veteran Warner Bros. executive will oversee marketing, creative services, brand partnerships, franchise management, social media and consumer PR.

Rachel Wakley – the five-year Warner Bros. executive will manager retail, consumer products, physical home video, games, supply chain and experiences

Ruiz said of his team: “Since I became general manager for the U.K. and Ireland, I’ve been focused on defining our strategy and structure and today I am delighted to announce my new leadership team.

“Both legacy companies house tremendous talent which makes me even more excited about the organization we are building for the future as we look to maximize our portfolio of brands, content, products and channels, along with our ambitions to deliver a hugely successful streaming business, in the U.K. and Ireland,” continued Ruiz.

As part of the restructure, 14-year Discovery veteran Simon Downing, head of factual and senior VP of marketing, is stepping down. Also departing after 25 years is Charlie Cubbon, head of commercial development at WarnerMedia.

The U.K. is an important market for Warner Bros. Discovery, which only on Tuesday unveiled a 149-hour package of new programs for Discovery’s linear channels and streaming offering Discovery+, amid questions about the future of unscripted content at the company (particularly at HBO Max). Meanwhile, Discovery’s sports SVOD Eurosport will soon merge with BT Sport as part of a 50-50 joint venture.

The HBO Max part of the equation, however, is still being worked out. Sky’s legacy output deal for HBO and some HBO Max content — which was renewed in 2019 in what was then considered to be a surprise move by WarnerMedia — is expected to run until 2025.

Warner Bros. Discovery will hold its Q2 earnings call on Thursday, at which point the company is expected to unveil more details about its structure, programming priorities and the streaming configuration for the combined HBO Max and Discovery+.

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