Ann Sarnoff, Warner Bros.’ First Female CEO
The career media exec brings to the job streaming experience at Nickelodeon, BBC, and VH1.
Ann Sarnoff, CEO of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Photographer: Krista Kennell/Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
Sarnoff had never run a major movie studio until being named CEO in June. Her experience was largely in TV: She had led a team at Viacom that started the Noggin kids channel; had been chief operating officer of VH1 and president of BBC Studios Americas; and had chaired the board of BritBox, which streams British TV shows. Sarnoff’s streaming expertise will come in handy as AT&T Inc., the new Warner Bros. parent company, introduces its own streaming service to compete with Netflix Inc. and Walt Disney Co. AT&T’s Warner Media division also includes HBO and CNN, but Warner Bros.’ deep movie library—Casablanca, Wonder Woman, the Harry Potter series, the Looney Tunes franchise, etc.—makes it integral to the success of the service, HBO Max. Sarnoff succeeds Kevin Tsujihara, who left in March amid a sex scandal.