Warner Bros. Discovery Sets New UK & Ireland Boss, Antonio Ruiz Exits

Max Goldbart
·2 min read

More change at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), with UK and Ireland boss Antonio Ruiz having exited to be replaced by Andrew Georgiou.

Ruiz quietly left some months ago to return to Spain, while Georgiou has had his role expanded. He remains Managing Director of WBD Sports Europe, which operates both Eurosport across Europe and newly-rebranded TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland.

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The news comes just days after EMEA boss Priya Dogra announced her exit and several weeks after long-serving TV distribution boss Robert Blair did the same.

Georgiou joined then-Discovery as President of Eurosport in 2019 from Lagardère Sports and Entertainment, where he was CEO, and has risen up the ranks.

He will helm the company in the crucial region with multiple TV channel brands including Discovery, TLC, Quest, Quest Red, Really, Cartoon Network, Eurosport and the newly launched TNT Sports as well as streamer Discovery+. He also has responsibility for consumer products, home entertainment and will support the local Warner Bros. theatrical business.

“Andrew has excelled at the business, being both commercially savvy and able to get things done,” said Gerhard Zeiler, WBD’s President of International.

“As we enter another important period during these transformative times for our broader business, I’m looking forward to working even more closely with him to shape our path and best position our company for continued and longer-term success.”

Ruiz took on the role in June 2022 as one of six general managers reporting to Dogra and is understood to have quietly exited several months ago, returning to Spain.

Zeiler will soon take on Dogra’s EMEA responsibility and she will not be replaced, with an internal note earlier this week from the international boss saying Dogra’s exit will have “come as a surprise to many” after her 14-year stint with the organization. Georgiou will therefore soon report directly to Zeiler, along with the likes of Nordics General Manager Christina Sulebakk and CEE, Baltics, Middle East, Mediterranean and Turkey boss Jamie Cooke.

WBD is continuing to implement layoffs and restructures as it grapples with various macroeconomic shocks, the streaming downturn and dual strikes.

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