Gunner Weedenfels, Chief Financial Officer of Warner Bros Discovery, will advance to the session at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference held in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 9, 2025.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
Legacy media is in an era of uproars. And it brings new crops to the forefront of decision makers.
In an industry where famous Hollywood executives have been running for a long time, people with financial backgrounds and transactional production experiences are changing more and more, as they usually carry out content and programming resumes.
Many of these leaders will be featured in conference calls in the coming weeks as the media industry reports quarterly revenue, as well as several leaders who attended the Allen & Company annual meeting in Sun Valley, Idaho, known recently as “Summer Camp for Billionaires.” Netflix will begin its media revenue season on Thursday.
Industry analysts and experts say these previously unheard media executive promotions are focused on cable television bleeding, making streaming profitable and keeping content spending budgets down. They also show that these companies are at a moment of change, and they need to register leaders who think differently than old security guards.
“These businesses are in perpetual decline and the only way to survive is to financially engineer your path towards all kinds of modest growth, or it’s a sign that otherwise there’s less decline than typical,” said Brandon Nispel, analyst at Keybank.
The latest example happened last month Warner Bros Discovery We have announced our intention to split it into two public companies next year. Current CEO David Zaslav runs the streaming and studio company, while CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels will join Global Networks Business’s top job.
Before serving as WBD’s finance chief, Wiedenfels held the same post at Discovery in 2022 before his merger with WarnerMedia.
His past contrasts with typical legacy media CEOs such as: Disney Chief Bob Iger played a variety of entertainment roles before taking on top job. Iger’s predecessor Michael Eisner had a foundation that included stints from top media companies. Media mogul Barry Diller has overcome the entertainment rankings, from William Morris’s agency’s mail room to ultimately the top role. Paramount and Fox.
Even Zaslav, a counterpart of Wiedenfels, was on the television show side for much of his career before taking over as CEO.
This trend towards finance and operational leaders is driven by a rapid upheaval in Netflix’s media industry, according to Jonathan Miller, CEO of Integrated Media, which specializes in digital media investment. Miller has been a longtime senior media industry executive; News Corp. And aol. He is also a former board member of Hulu.
As Netflix courted consumers on streaming platforms, it “overwhelmed everyone” to boost its library significantly, Miller said.
“In my view, it reduced the role of creative programmers who were the ones who ran this kind of company,” Miller said. “Managing money is important, if not more than the creative side at least. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I think that’s where we are in the industry.”
Strategic shift
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters speaks at Mobile World Congress 2023’s keynote address on the future of entertainment.
Joan Cross | nuphoto | Getty Images
Industry disruptors in 2023 Netflix He went out of the box when Reed Hastings promoted former company COO Greg Peters as co-CEO with Ted Salandos after he announced he was retreating.
Sarandos has been in charge of content for a long time, but Peters focused on growing the business beyond DVD, streaming partnerships and expanding its international footprint.
In a note from Hastings announcing leadership changes, he said Peters’ achievements “contributed to driving partnerships, building advertising, deeper personalization, helping to rebuild talent organizations and strengthening culture.”
Taking executives like Peters to the forefront of decision-making and leadership proved to be another indication of Netflix’s disruptive nature.
Hastings has long opposed the establishment of an advertising model that would offer subscribers cheaper options, and the company has long ignored password sharing between customers. However, when subscriber growth stagnates, companies shift gears and are proven fruitful, as evidenced by both revenue, profitability and company growth across subscriber bases. In response, Netflix stocks have skyrocketed.
“Ted is the guy with content there, right? He just lives in film and television and the art. I think Netflix is one of the few places where the co-CEO framework seems to work.” “Ted can do what he likes, and content is key to that business growth. During Greg, he seems more like a nut and bolt business background.”
Mike Cabana will also be promoted to President. Comcast After serving as Cable Giant CFO in 2022 and 2015. After months, Cavanagh’s authority expanded, with Jeff Shell ending his CEO role at Comcast’s NBCuniversal, and Cavanagh took over direct leadership in the company’s television, film and theme park units.
Under Cavanagh’s leadership, NBCuniversal made various strategic moves. The unit was rebuilt shortly after he took on leadership at NBCuniversal. About a year later, in Sun Valley, Cavanagh began laying the foundations for NBCuniversal to spin out most of its cable television networks.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts has publicly said that one of Comcast’s most important moves, Cable Spinout, is the idea of Cavanagh.
Cavanagh, formerly co-CEO jpmorgan’s Corporate and investment banks are frequently presented by industry stakeholders as heirs to the main role of Comcast, and his surveillance at NBCuniversal gives the opportunity to embed the sport and entertainment aspects of the business after a major focus on cable and broadband parent companies.
(LR) Michael Cavanagh, then-Comcast’s financial officer, arrived at the annual Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho on July 9, 2019, in discussions with Comcast CEO Brian Roberts.
Drew Ander | Getty Images
Cable and broadband also apply to transitioning to financial expertise. Charter Communication Current leader Chris Winfrey took on the CEO job after serving as CFO and COO under longtime cable executive Tom Rutledge. Since taking over, Winfrey has coordinated various changes to the company and has recently proposed to acquire Cox Communications.
Panera Brand, Jack in the Box, and more recently CFO, have expanded into the restaurant industry in recent months as CFOs play the role of CEO. Yam! brand.
And it could play a role in choosing a successor to Disney’s successor Iger.
The Disney Board has narrowed down potential successors to Iger, and is expected to announce it next year. Disney’s Four Chairs – Co-Chairs of Disney Entertainment Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, Disney’s Experienced Chairman Josh Damaro and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro were interviewed in top jobs.
Walden’s deep history in entertainment programming puts her in a positive position, but CNBC previously reported that criticism of her business insights could affect her opportunities. CFO Hugh Johnston is speculated to be part of the conversation, but he said he is not part of the formal succession plan.
Still, he said that who will become Disney’s next CEO is very undecided and that the process is in its early stages. Iger’s contract was extended until the end of 2026, giving the board more time to the due diligence process, CNBC previously reported.
A Disney representative declined to comment.
– CNBC’s Amelia Lucas and Alex Sherman contributed to this article.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of CNBC. Bersant will become CNBC’s parent company under the proposed cable spinout. Comcast is the owner of some of Hulu.
