The Biggest TV Executive Departures of 2021

Last year set a new bar for high-profile executive departures in the TV space, as more than two-dozen big-names headed for the exits in 2020 following major reorganizations and other big moves. By contrast, 2021 was a much quieter year on the executive exit front, even though some significant names departed their jobs among a shifting landscape. Here were the year’s biggest departures: Steve Mandala, Univision Mandala, who had been at Univision since 2012 and worked as president of ad sales and marketing, departed in January as part of an executive shakeup at the company that saw Donna Speciale take over as president of ad sales and marketing. But he has now returned to Spanish-language U.S. media: on Dec. 1, Mandala joined Estrella Media as chief revenue and local media officer. Ricky Strauss/Disney+ After spending nine years at Disney, Strauss, who managed content at Disney+ as president of programming and content curation, said on Jan. 6 that he would be leaving the company. His departure, he said, was a result of an October 2020 reorganization at Disney that positioned streaming at the center of the company and elevated Disney vet Kareem Daniel to head up the media and entertainment division. He is now chairman of the board of Binj, a new entertainment app. 11 Top TV Execs on the Biggest Thing They Learned During the Pandemic Pato Spagnoletto, Hulu On Feb. 17, Spagnoletto became the latest Hulu exec to jump to Discovery, becoming global chief marketing officer, Discovery direct-to-consumer. In May, Hulu promoted Scott Donaton to succeed Spagnoletto as head of marketing. Joe Hogan, WarnerMedia Hogan, who had been with ad sales at the company for 30 years and was a candidate for the WarnerMedia ad sales chief job that was vacant for 15 months, left on March 24 as part of a leadership shakeup under JP Colaco, who had landed the role five months earlier. Kim Godwin, CBS News She left her role as CBS News evp of news in April to succeed James Goldston as ABC News president. Godwin became the first Black executive to lead a broadcast network news division. Wendy McMahon, ABC/Disney As Godwin made the jump from CBS to ABC, McMahon went in the opposite direction. On April 14, she abruptly left her role as ABC Owned Television Stations group president after 11 years at Disney to become president and co-head of CBS News and CBS TV Stations alongside Neeraj Khemlani, who had been evp and deputy group head at Hearst Newspapers. Kelly Abcarian, Nielsen Early in Nielsen’s public standoff with the networks this spring over pandemic audience undercounting, Abcarian, who had been gm of Nielsen’s advanced video advertising group, switched sides and jumped to NBCUniversal in April, as evp, measurement and impact, for NBCU’s advertising and partnerships division. She replaced Kavita Vazirani, who had been NBCU’s evp of insights and measurement since 2017, and left the company earlier in the year. Julie McNamara, Paramount+ In May, two months after Paramount+ debuted, Julie McNamara, the evp and head of programming at the streamer, departed after working at ViacomCBS and CBS for 15 years. She joined Spotify in September as head of U.S. studios and video. Following McNamara’s exit, ViacomCBS tapped multiple top execs to oversee Paramount+’s content strategy, with MTV gm Tanya Giles taking over as programming lead. Mike Richards, Jeopardy! Aug. 11: Richards, who had been executive producer of Jeopardy!, was named to take over for the late Alex Trebek as the host of the nightly-syndicated game show. Aug. 20: Richards stepped down as host after the revelation that he had disparaged women and Jews, among others, on his former podcast—but Sony inexplicably allowed him to stay on as the show’s executive producer. Aug. 31: He exited his role as executive producer of both Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, marking the end of a stunning rise and fall. Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings will host for the remainder of Season 38 as Sony decides on a permanent host. Josh Sapan, AMC Networks The longtime president and CEO said on Aug. 24 that he would transition to the role of executive vice chairman in September after 26 years at the helm. Former Showtime Networks chairman and CEO is taking on the role of interim CEO for a year as the company looks for a permanent replacement. Ed Carroll, AMC Networks A month later, COO Carroll said he would be departing the company at the end of 2021 after a 34-year tenure. He had been COO since 2009. Last month, AMC Networks found his replacement: its CFO Christina Spade, who will add the COO role following Carroll’s exit. Kelly Campbell, Hulu Hulu president Campbell left the streaming service on Oct. 4, with her direct reports temporarily reporting to Rebecca Campbell, Disney’s chairman, international operations and direct-to-consumer. Two days later, Campbell announced her landing spot: rival streamer Peacock, which she joined last month as president. Seth Winter, Fox Sports On Oct. 20, ad sales chief Winter said he would be retiring in February after spending more than 40 years in ad sales. Mark Evans, who was named evp of ad sales for Fox Sports, is taking over his role.

Year in Review

The Biggest TV Executive Departures of 2021

Ricky Strauss, Kim Godwin and Kelly Campbell were among more than a dozen key exits

Steve Mandala, Univision

Jason Lynch

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Steve Mandala, Univision

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Jason Lynch