AMC Names Georgia Juvelis, Jim Maiella Corporate-Communications Co-Heads; Ellen Kroner Set to Retire
Ellen Kroner will retire from her longtime role as executive vice president and chief communications officer for AMC Networks, the company announced Thursday. PR veterans Georgia Juvelis and Jim Maiella have been tapped to succeed here as senior VPs and co-heads of corporate communications beginning in 2017. They will report to Josh Sapan, president and CEO of AMC Networks.
“One of the most remarkable things Ellen accomplished at AMC Networks was the development of a top notch communications team,” Sapan said. “Georgia and Jim are two highly respected, strategic executives and I look forward to working with them both in the new year.”
Kroner has been at AMC since 1998 and has led communications there for 11 years. Her tenure saw AMC Networks expand from a classic-movies cable channel to a home for commercially successful and Emmy-winning original programming; the acquisition of several domestic and international channels to create a broad portfolio of businesses; and the spin-off of AMC Networks from Cablevision Systems Corp.
“Ellen has run communications at AMC Networks during a dynamic period of growth and success that completely transformed the company and its relationships with viewers, investors, employees, creative and business partners and other key constituencies,” Sapan said. “Her steady leadership, instincts and expertise in communications and ability to work with and manage people on her team and across the company have served us incredibly well during her long and productive tenure. She has been a trusted advisor to so many here and I know I speak for the entire company when I say that – while we congratulate her on this new chapter – we are profoundly sorry to see her leave AMC Networks.”
Juvelis has been with AMC since 2008. She previously held roles at Gemstar-TV Guide, Hearst Communications, PBS, and Discovery Communications. She also owned and operated her own public-relations firm with offices in New York and San Francisco for six years.
Maiella joined AMC in 2013 after spending more than a decade at Cablevision Systems Corp., where he led media relations for cable operations and Optimum-branded services. He previously served at Robinson Lerer & Montgomery, Rubenstein Associates, RCN Corporation and was a congressional press secretary. As a journalist, he worked at the Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Daily News, and Newsday.
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