Warner Bros. Discovery Sets New Global Consumer Products Leadership
The Warner Bros. Discovery Global Brands and Experiences division unveiled the global leadership for its consumer products business, formalizing the marriage of legacy Warner Bros. and Discovery operations. Canada and U.S. are now integrated into one North American team, and major international regions managed together. The company also created a global e-commerce unit.
The WBD Global Brands and Experiences umbrella includes consumer products, themed entertainment, franchise development and brand management, including of Harry Potter and DC.
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Consumer products will mine brands and franchises across film, TV, animation and games, including HBO, Discovery, Cartoon Network, HGTV, Eurosport, Adult Swim and others, “to maximize long-term consumer engagement,” the company said.
The positions, effective as of Dec.1, were announced by division president Pam Lifford. The new leads will report to her.
They include:
-Robert Oberschelp as head North America Consumer Products. An exec with deep expertise across licensing, brand and product development, Oberschelp will also continue to oversee Global Brand Product, Franchise Management and Marketing. His newly combined team supports all of North America, including a retail-facing category team.
-Warner Bros. veteran and head EMEA Consumer Products. Julian Moon, will also become Head of APAC Consumer Products, based in London.
-Preston Lewis will continue as Head of LATAM Consumer Products and will also lead retail strategy and major retailer relationships for the Americas, partnering with Oberschelp in North America. During his Warner Bros. career, Lewis held leadership positions in multiple regions and previously oversaw WBCP’s retail business development team.
-Samantha Bushy will transition full-time to head of global E-commerce, Bushy joined the Company in 2021 from Apple, where she was Head of E-commerce, Global Marketplaces, WW Digital Channel.
-Peter van Roden will continue to lead Global Themed Entertainment, a worldwide leader in the creation, development, and licensing of location-based entertainment, live events, exhibits, and theme park experiences based on Warner Bros. IP. The legacy-Discovery experiences group will now be part of this group
Oberschelp’s team includes:
Carolann Dunn, from Discovery Consumer Products, who will now lead a new category role for the region overseeing Home, Food, Health and Beauty.
Jessica Elliot, taking on a new role leading the Fashion, Footwear, and Accessories category broadening her previous role in brand product.
Catherine Bachmaier will continue to lead Toys and Licensed Publishing.
“This team of best-in-class leaders brings years of experience in their respective areas and the realignment will result in a strong focus on our key growth areas, will further maximize our global relationships, streamline communication with global partners operating, and most importantly – bring brand new, integrated, and dynamic ways to engage fans around the world with our characters and stories,” Lifford said.
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