CNN COO David Leavy is returning to his former employer, Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a report in Variety. Leavy joined CNN in June of 2023 following his time as COO of Discovery from 2000 to 2022. He then moved to Warner Bros. Discovery as chief corporate affairs officer from 2022 to 2023 before departing for CNN.
Meanwhile, Variety obtained a memo sent to CNN staff on Wednesday from network CEO Mark Thompson announcing Leavy’s departure from the network.
“David arrived at CNN in tumultuous times and did a brilliant job stabilizing the company at a difficult moment,” said Thompson. “During the transition he led CNN jointly with Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling and played a central part helping me into my role as chairman and CEO before, as COO, leading multiple organizations and teams across revenue, promotion, operations and data.”
However, exact details about Leavy’s new role with his former employer are not known. Nevertheless, Leavy is expected to stay with CNN through late June, according to Variety.
“David fell in love with CNN from the moment he walked in and has supported and championed our journalism and our great brand ever since,” said Thompson. “He’s always been a voice for change and confidence in the future.”
When Leavy joined CNN in 2023, he initially reported to former CNN CEO Chris Licht, who took over for Jeff Zucker. Licht left CNN shortly after Leavy’s hire, following a year of layoffs, low ratings and shrinking profits for the network. Subsequently, following Thompson’s arrival, Leavy was placed as a senior executive charged with maintaining all operations.
Reflecting on his time at CNN, Leavy said, “When David Zaslav first called me about moving over to CNN, the initial plan was a six-month assignment, and that quickly turned into a multi-year drive to help the company pivot, transform and reposition itself for a new multiplatform future,” in a memo obtained by Variety. “I am so thankful for the opportunity, have learned a great deal, and hopefully made a small contribution by bringing some leadership, stability and collaboration to CNN during a challenging and disruptive period in its history.”
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