Founding Hulu CEO and former Amazon SVP will report to AT&T President and COO John Stankey.
Jason Kilar, former Hulu CEO, has been named CEO of WarnerMedia, reporting to John Stankey, AT&T’s President and Chief Operating Officer. He will take the reigns of the soon to launch streaming platform, HBO Max, as well as Warner Bros., HBO and all Turner cable network properties. The move is another sign the company is betting heavy on the future of streaming media.
“Jason is a dynamic executive with the right skill set to lead WarnerMedia into the future,” Stankey said. “His experience in media and entertainment, direct-to-consumer video streaming and advertising is the perfect fit for WarnerMedia, and I am excited to have him lead the next chapter of WarnerMedia’s storied success. Our team led by Bob Greenblatt, Ann Sarnoff, Gerhard Zeiler and Jeff Zucker has done an amazing job establishing our brands as leaders in the hearts and minds of consumers. Adding Jason to the talented WarnerMedia family as we launch HBO Max in May gives us the right management team to strategically position our leading portfolio of brands, world-class talent and rich library of intellectual property for future growth.”
“In partnership with this world-class team, I'm so excited for the opportunity to lean into the future at WarnerMedia,” Kilar stated. “Stories well told have always mattered, and they matter even more in this challenging time for the world. It will be a privilege to invent, create, and serve with so many talented people. May 1st can't get here soon enough.”
The media, entertainment, and technology executive was CEO of Hulu from its 2007 launch until 2013. He served in several leadership positions at Amazon from 1997 to 2006, including SVP of Worldwide Application Software. He was also co-founder & CEO of video streaming service Vessel from 2013 to 2017. Additionally, he served as a board member at DreamWorks Animation (2013-2016) and Univision Communications (2016-2020). He holds a bachelor’s degree (journalism & business) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Source: WarnerMedia
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
