Warner Bros. Discovery Sets Ad Sales Leadership Team

Warner Bros. Discovery finally has set its new ad sales leadership team. On Wednesday, Jon Steinlauf, chief U.S. advertising sales officer, Warner Bros. Discovery, announced the leadership group for the company's combined ad sales team. “Warner Bros. Discovery has the greatest collection of brands to offer advertisers, and our new leadership team will unlock that unique value to best drive success for our clients,” Steinlauf said in a statement. “This organizational structure combines strengths from each legacy organization with a set of client-focused, results-oriented leaders across brands and platforms who will create innovative, impactful advertising opportunities for our partners.” The senior leadership, which will report to Steinlauf, includes John Dailey leading cross-company partnerships and new business; Jon Diament overseeing linear and digital sales for TBS Sports, TNT Sports, Discovery Channel, Adult Swim, Animal Planet, truTV, Science Channel, NBA TV and MotorTrend; Laura Galietta leading integrated ad sales marketing across all digital and linear properties; and Karen Grinthal overseeing linear and digital sales and revenue for Food Network, TLC, TBS Entertainment, OWN, Cooking Channel, Cartoon Network and WB syndication. Additionally, Jim Keller will set strategy for Warner Bros. Discovery streaming and digital products, such as HBO Max, Discovery+, CNN Digital and sports, while overseeing advanced advertising, programmatic, TVE, sites and social and VOD; Greg Regis will oversee linear and digital sales and revenue for HGTV, CNN, ID, TNT Entertainment, Magnolia Network, Travel and HLN; Robert Voltaggio will oversee pricing and planning and sales support, commercial operations and direct response; and Andrea Zapata will lead research, data and insights. Sheereen Russell will continue to lead Warner Bros. Discovery’s DEI content monetization, now as a direct report. Steinlauf relied heavily on Discovery execs for his leadership team, with Dailey, Galietta, Grinthal, Keller, Regis and Voltaggio all continuing with and expanding their previous Discovery roles. Diament, Zapata and Russell are the only leadership team members who came from the WarnerMedia side of April's merger. Warner Bros. Discovery Begins Ad Sales Team Layoffs, Gives Upfront Update A source familiar with the matter also said Katrina Cukaj, evp of ad sales at the company, has decided to leave following a transition period. Following WarnerMedia and Discovery's $43 billion merger in April, several buyers told Adweek that Cukaj was a key ad sales exec they hoped would remain at the combined company. Several other top execs previously left the company following the merger, including JP Colaco, former head of advertising sales at WarnerMedia; Tony Goncalves, former evp and chief revenue officer; Ann Sarnoff, former chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group; and Brett Weitz, who was GM of Turner networks TNT, TBS and truTV. Bringing the team together The leadership announcement has long been expected from the company, as Steinlauf looked to manage a combined ad sales force. In June, news first broke of Warner Bros. Discovery cutting up to 30% of its ad sales staff in an effort to streamline the team. At the time, the company also confirmed Steinlauf sent an internal memo to U.S. staff offering a “voluntary separation program” to qualifying employees. Steinlauf initially spoke about potential ad sales layoffs at Adweek’s Convergent TV Summit East event in April, saying, “The question really is how do you take two great sales organizations and make one great sales organization holding on to the best of the best.” The ad sales chief said the ideal executive is a “team player” who puts the organization’s needs above individual needs. “The most important thing is the power of the combined portfolio and the power of the combined ad sales organization. I’ve seen just about everything there is to see in cable ad sales. I really think of this as a merger of three great cable network groups. Throw in HBO Max and Discovery+ as the new babies, and we can do anything, we have everything, we can do anything," Steinlauf said. The company still has yet to announce that it has wrapped its upfront negotiations—and is the only upfront week presenter that has yet to officially cross the finish line. “We’re active. We’re negotiating. We’re talking to everybody. We’re closing deals," Steinlauf said in June. "We’re being patient. We have a different paradigm this year."

TV Upfronts

Warner Bros. Discovery Sets Ad Sales Leadership Team, Including Jon Diament and Jim Keller

And another top WarnerMedia exec prepares to leave the combined company

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