Ann Sarnoff is an American television executive who became the chairperson and CEO of Warner Bros. in the summer of 2019 as the first woman to hold the position at the company.[1]
Early life and career[]
Born in Wilbraham, Massachusetts on November 2, 1961, Sarnoff graduated from Minnechaug Regional High School in 1979 and started out as a strategic consultant at Marakon Associates.[2]
From 1993 to 2003, Sarnoff worked at Viacom in the corporate development department.[3] After leaving corporate, Sarnoff was the head of Nickelodeon consumer products and business development during Geraldine Laybourne's leadership of the company.[4] In 1999, while working at Nickelodeon, Sarnoff was part of a team that created the TV channel Noggin, a joint venture between Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop. Sarnoff also helped create the television channel TV Land, which started off as Nick at Nite's TV Land in 1996.[5] Two shows she promoted were Rugrats and Blue's Clues. Sarnoff served as executive vice-president of business strategy and program enterprises at VH1.[6]
In 2001, she became chief operating officer of VH1 and Country Music Television, with the task of integrating the two channels.[7][8] During her time at VH1, Sarnoff launched the TV channel, VH1 Classic.[9]
In February 2004, Sarnoff was chief operating officer of the Women's National Basketball Association.[10][2]
In 2006, Sarnoff joined Dow Jones Ventures as president and senior vice president of strategy, a position she held for four years.[11][12] In this position, she ran the executive conference business for The Wall Street Journal.[13][14]
From 2010 to 2015, Sarnoff was chief operating officer of BBC Worldwide North America, where she worked with Herb Scannell, who she had worked with at Nickelodeon.[15] In August 2015, Sarnoff became president of BBC Studios Americas, formerly known as BBC Worldwide Americas.[16] In 2015, she launched the subscription TV channel, BBC Earth, and promoted shows like Doctor Who, Top Gear, Dancing with the Stars, Sherlock, Orphan Black, and Killing Eve.[17] From 2016 to 2018, Sarnoff was head of BBC Worldwide's Global Production Network.[18] In 2017, she launched Britbox, a streaming service for North America.[19][20]
In the summer of 2019, Sarnoff became the first woman CEO of Warner Bros, a subsidiary of WarnerMedia that was formerly known as Time Warner Inc before it was bought by AT&T. Sarnoff succeeded Kevin Tsujihara and reports to John Stankey.[21] Toby Emmerich, who is head of the Warner Bros. motion picture group, Peter Roth, who is the head of the Warner Bros. television group, and Kim Williams, executive VP and chief financial officer of Warner Bros. who oversees Otter Media, all report to Sarnoff in her position as head of Warner Bros.[22][23]
After Jason Kilar became CEO of WarnerMedia in May 2020, he restructured the company around its then new streaming service HBO Max. As a result, the WarnerMedia Studios and Networks group was created appointing Sarnoff as the Chairwoman and CEO.[24] The group had oversight of all television and motion picture development, production and programming. She exited Warner Bros. following the closure of the Warner Bros. Discovery deal in April 2022.[25]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Jarvey, Natalie; Hayden, Erik (24 June 2019). "Ann Sarnoff Named Warner Bros. CEO in Surprise Pick". The Hollywood Reporter.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "WNBA.com: WNBA Names Ann Sarnoff New COO". Women's National Basketball Association. 5 February 2004.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Sarnoff, Ann (January 2015). "Love What You Do" (Video). Harvard Business School.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ (2006) "I Do Know How She Does It", Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-1-588-36598-9.
- ↑ Tinsley, Catherine; Sarnoff, Ann (5 November 2015). "Georgetown University Women's Leadership Institute presents: Ann Sarnoff (Stanton Distinguished Leaders Series)" (Video interview). Women's Leadership Institute, McDonough School of Business. Georgetown University.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Saxe, Frank (19 August 2000). "VH1, Westwood One Team On Network". Billboard. p. 4.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "Power Couple". Harvard Business School (1 June 2005).
- ↑ Moss, Linda. "Sarnoff Named COO Of Both VH1, CMT". Multichannel.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "Women to Watch: Ann Sarnoff". Multichannel. 27 January 2002.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "WNBA Chief Operating Officer: Ann Sarnoff". Women's National Basketball Association. Retrieved on 24 June 2019.
- ↑ Kramer, Staci D. (8 September 2010). "Sarnoff Leaves Dow Jones To Join BBC Worldwide America As COO". GigOm.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ (2018) "Crush It In Corporate Life", You Are a Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do It Yourself, and Do It Now. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-1-501-19187-9.
- ↑ Garg, Ashu (26 September 2016). "The future of TV: A conversation with the BBC's Ann Sarnoff". Foundation Capital.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Hoffman, Howard (27 June 2006). "Ann Sarnoff Named President of Dow Jones Ventures" (Press release). Dow Jones. GlobeNewswire.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Littleton, Cynthia (21 May 2015). "Herb Scannell Leaves BBC Worldwide North America; Ann Sarnoff Promoted". Variety.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "WF 2018 Speakers: Ann Sarnoff" (en). Georgetown University Women's Forum (21 March 2018).
- ↑ "Ann Sarnoff; President, Americas". BBC Studios. Retrieved on 25 June 2019.
- ↑ Cocozza, Keith; Cusson, Jeff (24 June 2019). "Ann Sarnoff Named Chair and CEO of Warner Bros" (Press release). WarnerMedia.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ "Ann Sarnoff - Most Powerful Women 2018". CableFAX. 2018.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Mitchell, Robert (17 January 2019). "BritBox Subscribers Hit Half a Million". Variety.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Barnes, Brooks (24 June 2019). "Ann Sarnoff, a Hollywood Outsider, Will Lead Warner Bros. Studio". The New York Times.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Lang, Brent; Otterson, Joe (24 June 2019). "Warner Bros.' CEO Surprise: Ann Sarnoff Represents Unexpected Choice for Studio in Transition". Variety.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ Stelter, Brian (24 June 2019). "Ann Sarnoff named chair and CEO of Warner Bros". CNN.Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.
- ↑ https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/07/media/warnermedia-restructuring-hbo-max/index.html
- ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/ann-sarnoff-exiting-warner-bros-when-discovery-deal-closes-1235125737/
External links[]
- Ann Sarnoff at BBC Studios - Americas
Ann Sarnoff at the Internet Movie Database
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