Warner Bros. Discovery corporate communications chief Nathaniel Brown is exiting the company.
CEO David Zaslav announced the news in a memo to staff Friday. Variety has learned Brown decided to step down himself, following his tenure getting the company through its merger between the legacy Discovery and WarnerMedia, which closed in April 2022. A respected communications veteran, Brown also led the PR strategy for the launch of Max, the combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streamer, in May 2023.
“Nathaniel is hugely talented, one of the absolute best in the business and I have been incredibly fortunate to have him by my side during one of the most pivotal and transformative periods for our industry,” Zaslav wrote. “Since joining us in 2019 following an accomplished tenure at 21st Century Fox, he has been a tireless and formidable advocate for the company and for me. Among his many accomplishments, he played a critical role in positioning Discovery to acquire WarnerMedia and has continued to skillfully navigate a wide range of cross currents through the creation and restructuring of WBD.”
A source says the decision to leave Warner Bros. Discovery was completely mutual between him and Zaslav and Brown has no plans lined up for his next move as of now. Brown says he will be taking time off before looking for his next role.
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Brown will transition out of his comms chief position over the next two months.
A replacement for Brown has not been named, but an internal and external search for a successor is underway. In the meantime, Laura Watson will oversee corporate communications and Katie Martin Kelley will assist in handling corporate press inquiries on an interim basis.
In his own message to the company’s employees, Brown wrote: “I realize there is never a perfect or easy time to make such a transition, but the start of the new year feels as good as any. These last several years have been fast and unforgettable. I joined Discovery in 2019 after a great run at 21st Century Fox, culminating in 21CF’s sale to Disney. Since then, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to work alongside DZ as part of his leadership team and it has been an extraordinary ride, particularly these last few years as DZ has architected Discovery’s acquisition of WarnerMedia and established Warner Bros. Discovery. The team has worked tirelessly to launch the new company and restructure it for the future. It has been a phenomenal experience, and I will be forever grateful to DZ and the many colleagues across WBD for their support, collaboration and friendship.”
Prior to joining Discovery in 2019, Brown was senior vice president of corporate affairs and media relations for 21st Century Fox for eight years. He oversaw PR during the 2013 split from News Corp and Disney’s 2019 acquisition of 21st Century Fox assets.
Before joining Fox in 2012, Brown led communications for MTV. Additional previous roles include positions at XM Satellite Radio, Sony BMG and Dan Klores Communications.
See Zaslav’s note below.
All –
I have some news that I wanted to share with you personally. Nathaniel Brown, our Chief Communications Officer, will be leaving the company after a truly remarkable five-year run.
Nathaniel is hugely talented, one of the absolute best in the business and I have been incredibly fortunate to have him by my side during one of the most pivotal and transformative periods for our industry. Since joining us in 2019 following an accomplished tenure at 21st Century Fox, he has been a tireless and formidable advocate for the company and for me. Among his many accomplishments, he played a critical role in positioning Discovery to acquire WarnerMedia and has continued to skillfully navigate a wide range of cross currents through the creation and restructuring of WBD.
Over the years, Nathaniel has built highly capable, cohesive teams and earned the well- deserved respect and admiration of leaders and colleagues at every level of the organization for his collaborative approach and expertise. At the same time, he has cultivated strong relationships with members of the press across the entire media landscape. Needless to say, we greatly appreciate Nathaniel’s extraordinary efforts and dedication and wish him the very best and continued success.
We are in the process of conducting a thoughtful and thorough search, internally and externally, for a new Comms leader and will let you know when we have selected a candidate. In the meantime, I have asked our head of executive communications, Laura Watson, and the head of comms for Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, Katie Martin Kelley, to oversee corporate communications on an interim basis.
Please join me in thanking Nathaniel for everything he has done!
David
