Warner Bros. Discovery
Leadership History
1 leader · 2022 to present
David Zaslav is the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, in the role since 2022.
| Name | Role | From | To | Years in role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Zaslav | President and CEO | 2022 | Present | 4 |
Warner Bros. Discovery is headquartered in New York and trades on Nasdaq under WBD. It had about 35,500 employees at the end of 2025. Its brands include Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, HBO, HBO Max, DC, CNN, TNT Sports, Eurosport, Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Cartoon Network and Warner Bros. Games. The company is headquartered in New York City, New York.
WBD earns money from three revenue types. Distribution revenue comes from HBO Max and discovery+ subscriptions and from fees that pay-TV distributors pay to carry its cable networks. Advertising revenue comes from linear networks such as TNT, TBS, CNN, Discovery and HGTV, plus ad-supported streaming tiers. Content revenue comes from theatrical film releases, television production and licensing, games, and consumer products. Streaming and Studios are the growth segments, while Global Linear Networks still produces large cash flow but is shrinking with cord-cutting.
President and CEO
2022 – Present
4 years (current)
Shelved some finished content and cut costs after the merger, relaunched HBO Max as Max in 2023 and back to HBO Max in 2025, announced a two-company split in 2025, and then put WBD up for sale in October 2025.
Led the 2022 merger, the post-merger cost cuts and debt paydown, the 2025 separation plan, and the sale process that produced the Paramount Skydance agreement.
These officers report to the chief executive and are not part of the CEO timeline above.
Linear pay-TV subscriber declines keep pressing distribution and advertising revenue. The loss of NBA rights after the 2024-25 season cut 2026 advertising revenue sharply, and Q2 2026 content revenue fell 26% ex-FX on a weaker theatrical slate. The company carried $29.7 billion of net debt at mid-2026 and has spent heavily on separation and transaction costs during the sale process.
David Zaslav serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Warner Bros. Discovery, having led Discovery, Inc. from 2007 until orchestrating the 2022 mega-merger with WarnerMedia.
Zaslav spent two decades at NBCUniversal developing cable networks (including CNBC and MSNBC) before joining Discovery Communications in 2007, where he grew Discovery into an international non-fiction media titan.
Gunnar Wiedenfels serves as Chief Financial Officer of WBD, renowned for rigorous financial discipline, aggressive synergy capture, and steering over $13 billion in post-merger debt repayments.
Casey Bloys serves as Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, having spent over two decades overseeing HBO's critically acclaimed programming lineup including *Succession*, *Game of Thrones*, and *Euphoria*.
Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy serve as Co-Chairs and CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, overseeing Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation.
Filmmaker James Gunn and veteran producer Peter Safran were appointed Co-Chairmen and Co-CEOs of DC Studios in November 2022 to spearhead a unified creative vision for DC Comics properties.
Jason Kilar (former Hulu CEO) served as CEO of WarnerMedia under AT&T from 2020 to 2022, famously launching "Project Popcorn" (releasing entire 2021 film slates simultaneously on HBO Max and theaters) before stepping down at the Discovery merger.
Richard Plepler was the longtime CEO of HBO (2007–2019) who greenlit *Game of Thrones* and launched standalone streaming service HBO NOW, establishing HBO's golden age before resigning following AT&T's takeover.
Zaslav faced widespread industry scrutiny in 2022–2023 for aggressive cost cutting, including shelving finished films for tax write-downs (*Batgirl*, *Coyote vs. Acme*), shutting down CNN+ after 30 days, and slashing executive overhead.
Zaslav's compensation included extensive performance stock options tied to meeting free cash flow targets, post-merger debt reduction milestones, and share price performance, culminating in the 2026 buyout transaction.
David Ellison, founder and CEO of Skydance Media and head of Paramount Skydance, is set to lead the combined media giant as Chief Executive Officer following the completion of the WBD acquisition.
Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr., former global CEO of PwC, served as the independent Chairman of the Board of Directors of Warner Bros. Discovery, presiding over the strategic sale process in 2025–2026.
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