Yahoo Finance David Zaslav Hires Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs as Warner Bros. Discovery Comms Chief (Exclusive)
David Zaslav has found his new communications chief.
The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO has tapped former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs as the new top executive to lead his comms division after the exit of Nathaniel Brown at the beginning of this year, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. His start date is August 5.
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“At this transformative time in our industry, Robert is the right leader to assume this new, critical global role, as we continue to grow the Warner Bros. Discovery brand and presence around the world,” said Zaslav in a statement. “Robert is an insightful and respected leader with experience spanning Fortune 500 companies, the White House, and winning political campaigns. He will be an invaluable part of the team as we create the most captivating stories and content for consumers around the world. I am thrilled to welcome him to WBD.”
“I couldn’t be happier to join Warner Bros. Discovery and to help tell the incredible stories of so many iconic brands across entertainment, news and sports,” said Gibbs. “I’m particularly excited to work with the global team to fully and clearly capture WBD’s vision and communicate the meaningful growth potential in front of us. I am looking forward to getting started and being a part of this world-class organization.”
Gibbs, 53, recently served as a partner at comms agency Bully Pulpit International, which lists his purview as “corporate reputation, executive communications, and crisis response.”
He was Barack Obama’s press secretary from 2009 to 2011 and had been global chief communications officer of McDonald’s from 2015-2019. Previously he served as press secretary for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
Gibbs is seen as a seasoned exec with experience in both managing big personalities as well as being able to say “No” to the boss, a WBD insider notes.
The official brings extensive Washington, D.C. ties, which could be valuable in the case of navigating regulatory review that any Warner Bros. Discovery M&A opportunity could bring.
Brown was hired in 2019 to lead corporate communications for Discovery Inc., before it merged with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros Discovery.
THR‘s Hot Source newsletter reported earlier on Monday that the new top PR exec at Warner Bros. Discovery would bring with them political experience and would be a “big name out of the box.”
June 18, 7:40 am PST. Updated with statements from Warner Bros. Discovery.
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