Welcome to Career Moves, StreamTV Insider’s roundup of hirings, promotions and exits throughout the TV media and entertainment industry.
If you’ve got movers and shakers in your ranks let me know about it at [email protected].
Week of August 18
Wurl
AppLovin-owned streaming TV vendor Wurl has a new chief executive officer at the helm, promoting Dave Bernath to the role.
Bernath previously served as general manger of the Americas at Wurl and as CEO succeeds Ron Gutman, who is retiring. Bernath will report to AppLovin CEO Adam Foroughi.
“It’s a privilege to step into the CEO role at Wurl – especially during such a great period of growth and momentum in streaming TV,” said Bernath in a statement. “Thanks to Ron’s leadership, we have a strong foundation of talent, tech, and innovation. Our customers remain at the center of everything we do – we’re listening, we’re learning, and we’re building with them in mind.”
Under Bernath’s leadership the company plans to keep investing in technology, partnerships and global expansion.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve accomplished at Wurl and grateful to have worked with such an exceptional team,” said Gutman, who helped scale Wurl’s core offerings during his tenure, in a statement. “Dave has already demonstrated his strengths in leading and scaling the business, while putting our customers’ and partners’ needs at the forefront. I have full confidence in his ability to guide Wurl through its next stage of growth.”
Check out a video interview with Bernath from the StreamTV Show in June here, where he breaks down how YouTube quietly became a dominant force on CTV and what it means for advertisers.
TelevisaUnivision
TelevisaUnivision this week announced the appointment of Oscar Suris as EVP and Chief Communications Officer, where he’s charged with shaping and advancing the company’s global narrative.
Suris has 30 years of experience as a communications leader, including most recently as SVP and communications chief executive at Duke Energy, leading a 100-member team. Prior to that he was president of Edelman New York, the agency’s largest global office with more than 800 employees.
At TelevisaUnivision Suris will lead enterprise-wide communications, including overseeing corporate, content, brand, community relations and employee communications across the U.S. and Mexico.
“Oscar has an impressive and wide-ranging background across communications that I’m confident will inspire bold thinking, elevate our storytelling, and ensure our narratives resonate more powerfully than ever before,” said Jose Tomas, Chief Administrative Officer of TelevisaUnivision, who Suris reports to. “The impact and influence of TelevisaUnivision have never been more important, and we’re excited to have him at the helm of this function as we grow our business to maximize our global reach and presence.”
Fox Entertainment Studios
Fox Entertainment Studios promoted Dana Tafoya-Cameron to head of Bento Box Entertainment and Animation, taking over for Brett Coker who is retiring.
Additionally, Michelle Huynh joined Fox Entertainment Studios from Netflix as head of studio content operations earlier this year. At Netflix she served as global head of systems, worflows and technology, and prior positions include senior roles at NBCUniversal and Marvel Entertainment.
Both Tafoya-Cameron and Huynh will report to Fox Entertainment Studios president Fernando Szew.
News also surfaced this week that FES appointed FX alum JJ Klein as SVP for Scripted Entertainment, and former CBS Studios exec Brie Neimand as SVP of Scripted Development.
Week of July 28: WBD, Radial Entertainment set top leaders for new entities
This week saw announcements of top leadership roles at M&E companies as a result of recent business splits and combinations. That includes Warner Bros. Discovery, which disclosed plans for the leadership team following its planned company division, both at the remaining business and spun-out entity that includes its global linear networks. Also naming C-level executives this week is Radial Entertainment, the newly formed company born from the Oaktree Capital Management-backed merger of FilmRise and Shout! Studios.
In addition, TelevisaUnivision is getting a new hire, as is Comcast’s spun-out entity Versant.
See the latest M&E career moves below:
Warner Bros. and Discovery Global
Warner Bros. Discovery this week announced corporate names and senior leadership for its pending business split, expected in mid- 2026. It’s not just the assets that are splitting, but also the company name – with the entity housing Streaming & Studio businesses to be called simply Warner Bros. and the Global Networks entity to be named Discovery Global.
Here’s the leadership list for Warner Bros., which will continue to be led by current WBD President and CEO David Zaslav as he maintains those roles at the remaining entity:
- Pam Abdy, Co-Chair and CEO Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group
- Priya Aiyar, Chief Legal Officer
- Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO and HBO Max
- Bruce Campbell, Chief Operating Officer
- Mike De Luca, Co-Chair & CEO, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group
- Channing Dungey, Chairman & CEO, Warner Bros. TV Group
- Robert Gibbs, Chief Communications & Public Affairs Officer
- James Gunn, Co-Chairman and CEO, DC Studios
- Lori Locke, Chief Accounting Officer (reporting to the Chief Financial Officer)
- JB Perrette, CEO & President of Streaming and Games
- Peter Safran, Co-Chairman and CEO, DC Studios
- Avi Saxena, Chief Technology Officer (reporting to Perrette)
Here’s the leadership team for Discovery Global, which will be helmed by current WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels in his new role as president and CEO.
- David Duvall, Chief Technology Officer
- Amy Girdwood, Chief People & Culture Officer
- Ryan Gould, President, US Ad Sales GTM (reporting to Zeiler)
- Anil Jhingan, Chief Development Officer
- Kasia Kieli, President and MD, Poland and CEO, TVN
- Fernando Medin, President, International
- Scott Miller, President, Distribution (reporting to Zeiler)
- Fulvia Nicoli, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy & Insights (reporting to Zeiler)
- Brian Rauch, Chief Accounting Officer (reporting to Woodford)
- Luis Silberwasser, Chairman and CEO, TNT Sports
- Mark Thompson, Chairman and CEO, CNN Worldwide
- Sue Underwald, Chief Legal Officer
- Bobby Voltaggio, President, US Ad Sales Platform Monetization (reporting to Zeiler)
- Fraser Woodford, Chief Financial Officer
- Gerhard Zeiler, President, US, UK & Germany, Discovery+ and Chief Content Officer
With Wiedenfels taking over the CEO role at Discovery Global, Warner Bros. has begun searches for the role of chief financial officer, as well as a chief people & culture officer role. And Discovery Global continues to look for a chief communications & public affairs officer.
And while new leadership was announced, the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group this week enacted a round of layoffs, reportedly impacting roughly 10% of the studio’s workforce.
Radial Entertainment
Following the July acquisition of FilmRise by Oaktree Capital and subsequent merger with Shout! Studios, the newly formed independent content distribution company Radial Entertainment named several C-suite executives.
- FilmRise SVP of Corporate Strategy and Finance David Buoymaster as Radial’s Chief Investment Officer. With FilmRise since 2017, Buoymaster was responsible for strategic planning and business intelligence functions that facilitate the Company’s underwriting methodologies and distribution strategies. At Radial he’ll be responsible for leading the content strategy, underwriting process, and investment decision-making.
- FilmRise’s Chief Strategy Officer and CFO Johnny Holden will move into the role of Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer at Radial.
- Shout! Studios’ CFO Max Pinigin will continue that role as Chief Financial Officer of Radial.
- Shout! Studios’ EVP of Business and Legal Affairs Dave McIntosh has been named EVP of Content and Business Affairs. He’ll oversee the combined FilmRise and Shout! Studios’ content teams to acquire film, TV and creator content for Radial.
“These key roles have been strategically structured to drive significant growth and unlock new opportunities as we grow Radial into one of the leading distributors in the industry. I am confident that our outstanding leadership team is poised to guide us toward tremendous growth,” stated Garson Foos, CEO of Radial Entertainment.
TelevisaUnivision
Spanish-language media company TelevisaUnivision hired seasoned tech executive and investor John Farrell to the newly created role of Head of Partnerships.
Per TVU, the new role unifies the company’s global content distribution, platform relationships, corporate development and international growth initiatives.
Farrell will report to TelevisaUnivision CEO Daniel Alegre and is tasked with leading the company’s end-to-end distribution strategy across linear, digital, streaming and emerging platforms “to deepen strategic partnerships, drive revenue growth” and expand its global footprint.
Farrell joins the media company after nearly a decade in venture capital, during which TelevisaUnivision said he helped launch and lead multiple funds, as well as shape investment strategy across emerging sectors and supported the growth of startups across Latin America.
Prior to that he held senior leadership roles at Google across Latin America and Asia, including leading YouTube’s business in Latin America and helping to establish the platform in the region.
TVU also called out Farrell’s role as Country Director for Google Mexico, which it said gave “him deep insight into the Mexican market and the broader regional digital ecosystem.
“We’re thrilled to welcome John to TelevisaUnivision – his track record in global deal-making and strategic partnerships makes him a tremendous asset as we accelerate our momentum and strengthen our position as the first-choice collaborator in the industry,” said Alegre in a statement. “Having worked with John earlier in our careers, I saw firsthand his ability to drive growth, build enduring relationships, and execute complex partnerships with creativity and discipline. His leadership will be key to scaling our partnerships function and unlocking new value across the business.”
Versant
Versant, the forthcoming Comcast spin-off entity that includes most of its cable networks, internally announced the hire of NBC Nightly News executive producer Megahan Rafferty. She’s leaving the evening newscast to join Versant as VP of News Standards, where The Hollywood Reporter reports Rafferty will be tasked with “setting and maintaining the company’s journalistic standards at both MSNBC and CNBC and guiding both newsrooms.”
Week of July 14: Gracenote, iSpot, VideoAmp level up the C-Suite
It’s a busy week for the C-suite, with several companies announcing new executive hires and promotions, including measurement vendor competitors iSpot and VideoAmp as well as Nielsen-owned metadata provider Gracenote.
In announcing the appointments, all three companies indicated changes come as the providers seek to better serve needs of a media industry that’s rapidly evolving and poised for significant changes, including through the use of new technologies.
Also elevating their C-suite this week is research firm MarketCast.
See below for the latest career moves.
Gracenote
Nielsen-owned Gracenote has hired Ryan Moore to the newly created role of Chief Business Officer, effective July. Moore will lead all go-to-market activities, meant to drive growth and capture both near- and long-term opportunities in the space. He’s charged with overseeing Gracenote’s global sales, marketing and customer and partnership experience teams, while also aligning with global product, engineering and content organizations.
Prior to Gracenote, Moore was most recently at Epic Games subsidiary and kidtech platform SuperAwesome, where he served as global chief revenue officer. Prior to that he was head of Advertising Strategy & Solutions at mobile streaming company Quibi, where he built go-to-market functions, tools and systems, along with onboarding high-profile pre-launch partners. Moore also spent six years at Twitter. There he served as global director of video solutions and roles for global agency business development, with experience that includes leading the team responsible for video product revenue.
“The media industry is on the cusp of a major transformation driven by AI,” said Jared Grusd, CEO of Gracenote (who took the helm in the newly created CEO role last year) in a statement. “Ryan’s proven track record building world-class go-to-market motions and scaling through innovative technologies makes him an invaluable asset as Gracenote continues to evolve its content solutions and empower clients to thrive in a rapidly changing industry."
iSpot
Measurement company iSpot tapped Craig Ziegler as its new Chief Product Officer, bringing 25 years of product leadership experience, including expertise in AI and machine learning applications.
Ziegler joins iSpot from Integral Ad Science (IAS), where he served as SVP of Product for six years and played a key role in helping to scale the company’s revenue in the run up to its 2021 IPO. Before IAS, Ziegler had leadership positions focused on programmatic at media agency Omnicom Media Group, as well as roles at digital company Legacy.com and Tribune Media.
And iSpot plans to leverage his product leadership experience for companies at the intersection of advertising, technology and data, as Ziegler is tasked to help and redefine the vendor’s measurement products across creative, audience and outcomes in a way “that will help clients increase ad effectiveness across all video channels.”
“The media landscape is increasingly complex. Marketers need products and solutions that efficiently help them achieve their business objectives and iSpot has those products. I’m incredibly excited to join iSpot and contribute to a company that is at the forefront of innovation in TV and digital video," said Ziegler in a statement. "I look forward to leveraging my experience to help iSpot refine its product architecture and taxonomy in a manner that ultimately helps benefit our clients and the industry as a whole.”
VideoAmp
Rival measurement VideoAmp, meanwhile, officially has a new CEO – appointing Peter Liguori to the role.
Liguori had already been at the helm of VideoAmp as executive chairman since January 2024 when founder and long-time CEO Ross McCray stepped down.
Liguori has been in the executive chairman role since 2023 and a member of VideoAmp’s board since 2020. His extensive media and entertainment experience includes former roles as CEO of Tribune Media, COO of Discovery Communications, Chairman of Fox Entertainment and CEO of FX.
And now Liguori as CEO will officially steward VideoAmp “into its next chapter as it scales adoption of its big data-led media optimization solutions and doubles down on innovation, automation and customer success,” the announcement stated.
That’s not the only C-suite change for VideoAmp this week, with a trio of additional leadership updates announced Thursday.
- Dustin Jackson is joining VideoAmp as Chief Technology Officer, where he’ll advance the vendor’s innovation engine and support platform scalability. Jackson was formerly SVP of Engineering at Celonis and VP of Engineering at Google, leading ad planning and customer engagement.
- Megan Opp has joined as Chief People Officer, leading talent, culture and organizational development.
- Bryan Goski has been promoted to Chief Revenue Officer.
- Sharon Lee has been promoted to Chief Legal Officer.
“These appointments are not just about leadership changes; they signal that VideoAmp is doubling down on delivering the industry’s most trustworthy, high-fidelity data, cutting-edge innovation, and, above all, client success,” said Liguori in a statement. “We’re building a company to meet the moment during a pivotal time in the industry that demands proven, in-market big data expertise, AI-fueled efficiency and a relentless focus on innovation. Our approach gives clients the stability, affordability and flexibility they need to navigate and lead in this evolving landscape.”
MarketCast
Market research and analytics firm MarketCast promoted Co-President Amy Fenton to CEO, effective immediately.
With over 30 years of experience, MarketCast said the decision “comes at a pivotal moment for the industry, as media fragmentation accelerates and brands face growing pressure to use real-time, predictive data to optimize campaigns and drive measurable sales outcomes.”
Before joining MarketCast nearly three years ago, Fenton held senior leadership roles at firms including Nielsen, Ipsos and Kantar.
"We are confident that Amy will be a tremendous leader for our clients and employees alike," said Ahmed Wahla, partner with Kohlberg, MarketCast’s lead financial investor, in a statement. "With a focus on product modernization through AI and data science, client-centric commercial focus, and talent development, Amy’s leadership best positions MarketCast for the future to arm our clients with real time predictive data driving marketing ROI for their enterprise."