John Lee Joins NBCUniversal As Chief Data Officer

NBCUniversal today appointed John Lee to the newly-created role of chief data officer, sitting within the company’s Global Advertising & Partnerships division. In a first for the company, Lee will lead a centralized data unit tasked with developing and implementing the company’s enterprise-wide consumer identity and data strategy.

Reporting to President-Chief Business Officer Krishan Bhatia, Lee and his team will develop the company’s first-party data strategy and create data-driven partnerships to support advertising, marketing, consumer experience and analytics use cases across NBCUniversal’s portfolio of consumer businesses — from the company’s TV and streaming properties and the NBC News Group to Universal Filmed Entertainment and Universal Parks and Resorts.

Working collaboratively across NBCUniversal as well as in partnership with Comcast and Sky, Lee will support teams within advertising sales, marketing, product, operations and technical services, and more to prioritize the role of data in consumer experience and product development, monetization, and partnerships at the company. Lee will combine his decades-long expertise driving customer experience, identity resolution and data management with NBCUniversal’s commitment to creating a unified data platform focused on data interoperability, partnership, and privacy. Specifically, he will lead a team of data scientists, strategists, and developers who will enable and enhance monetization opportunities across NBCUniversal’s One Platform; develop an integrated audience graph; and promote the company’s market-leading identity capabilities, from the NBCU Audience Insights Hub to NBCU ID and more.

“We’re thrilled to welcome John into the family, because he understands how to build a future where data plays a central role in all our products and services,” said Krishan Bhatia, president-chief business officer, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships. “John will help us set a new standard for consumer identity and data management as well as deliver on our promise of creating a unified platform that drives our business and our partners’ businesses forward, while giving our audiences the best experiences on the screen, in our parks and at the movies.”

“John Lee is joining NBCUniversal at a critical time both for NBCUniversal, and the industry at large,” said Chris Crayner, chief digital officer, Universal Parks & Resorts. “Leaders across the media and technology landscape have a unique opportunity to reimagine the role of data and identity in day-to-day business operations, and to create a simple, interoperable future that yields impact for partners and improves the consumer experience, all while upholding the privacy standards and trust the world demands. We’re thrilled to work with John and his team to do just that.”

“The next era of media and advertising will be defined by data and identity, and I am thrilled to join the team at NBCUniversal to build this future for our partners, the industry, and consumers,” said Lee. “From theme parks to movie studios, digital and streaming to linear, NBCUniversal is poised to deliver a unified consumer identity vision that meets the needs and expectations of both consumers and marketers while maintaining the trusted relationships the company has built, creating new ways to generate revenue and scale investments with privacy in mind.”

An industry veteran, Lee has built his career at the intersection of corporate strategy, data and product management, and CRM. Prior to his new role at NBCUniversal, Lee was global chief corporate strategy officer at Merkle, where he led the development and execution of the company’s business vision, value proposition and long-term planning. In addition to his corporate strategy duties, Lee oversaw product management, including the company’s identity resolution, data management, and customer experience assets.

Lee joined Merkle in 2008 and served in a number of leadership roles, including chief product and data officer as well as global president, Merkury.

Before joining Merkle in 2008, Lee held numerous leadership and management positions over the course of his career, and he co-authored a book on digital marketing trends entitled The Rise of the Platform Marketer.