Chris Licht Announces CNN Leadership Team; Kris Coratti Kelly will be Head of Global Communications – Update

Updated: The hiring of Chris Korat Kelly as CNN’s new head of global communications was one of the big announcements made by CNN president and CEO Chris Licht as he completed his leadership team.

In a note to employees, Licht said Michael Bass will continue as executive vice president of programming at CNN and Virginia Mosel as editorial vice president of CNN USA, an expanded role that includes the digital news team. Amy Entellis will continue as Executive Vice President for Content and Talent Development and Ken Jautz will remain as Executive Vice President for News. Sam Feist will continue as vice president and chief of the Washington office.

Licht also announced Jonita Du as Executive Vice President of Integrity and Inclusion, a newly created position.

He also wrote that they are managing a global research digital director after Andrew Morse’s departure in April. Wendy Brundage serves as interim Chief Digital Officer.

Licht also said James Anderson, who was serving as interim communications chief, has decided to leave the company. Calvin Sims, who was executive vice president for standards and practices, also leaves. Your party will now report back to Two.

Licht’s full memo is below.

soon: Chris Korat Kelly joins CNN Worldwide as executive vice president and head of global communications.

His hiring was among a series of leadership roles announced Wednesday by Chris Licht, who became president and CEO of CNN in May.

Corati Kelly will lead CNN’s brand strategy and oversee advertising and media relations, creative marketing, brand events and initiatives, as well as external and staff communications. You will report to Licht.

Corati Kelly, who was the communications director of the Washington Post, replaces Alison Gollust, who left in February amid the investigation of former CNN chief Jeff Zucker and the firing of prime-time host Chris Cuomo. .

In a statement, Licht said Corati Kelly is “one of the most dynamic, creative and respected executives in his field with an incredible track record of success. I have full confidence in his ability to uphold and promote CNN’s core values ​​of trust, transparency and accountability in journalism. “

Corati Kelly will start her new role next month and will work in New York. Al Post, where he has worked since 2006, was also general manager of the Washington Post Live and led the publication’s expansion into film and television. He was also responsible for founding the Washington Post Press Freedom Association following the murder of columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

She’s been one of Licht’s best hires since he took over.

Corati Kelly said in a statement: “CNN is one of the most important and trusted news organizations in the world. I am thrilled to join the team and help realize their vision of increasing CNN’s reach and reputation as the world’s leading source of news and information. “

The New York Times and Variety were the first to report on hiring and reassignments.

This post has been corrected to reflect Andrew Morse’s previous role as chief digital officer for CNN.

Full Licht Note:

The group

I would like to share some interesting news about our new management structure and the people I have asked to help me manage this great organization.

First of all, thank you for your patience as I got to know many of you. I have now met over 1,000 CNN reporters from around the world and am constantly amazed by the passion and drive they bring to work every day. Taking the time to gain a better understanding of this huge company was critical to my decision making as I thought about the management team that would best meet the needs of the company, our audience and all of you. In these meetings, I learned more about the dedication of our employees around the world and the outstanding work that continues to make our brand the envy of the industry. That said, I am delighted to share CNN Worldwide’s executive management team with you.

miguel below It will continue to serve as the programming EVP for US CNN. Michael’s steadfast hand has led CNN to many important stories and moments: he’s committed to the brand and his mission, and he’s an outstanding leader and a fantastic reporter. He will continue to lead the 9:00 editorial call and continue programming for CNN USA networks.

Virginia Mosella He will now serve as executive vice president of publishing for CNN US, which now includes the digital news team led by Rachel Smolkin. We are fortunate to continue Virginia’s vast knowledge of newsgathering in an expanded role that will further consolidate our resources and reach across all platforms. Virginia will now be based in New York.

amy entellis He will continue to serve as Executive Vice President of Talent and Content Development. Under Amy’s leadership, CNN Original Series and CNN Films have flourished, becoming hallmarks of our portfolio and reaching new audiences, making them a cornerstone of our brand. Your vision for the future of this part of our business is incredibly valuable to us all. I can’t wait to continue drawing on your experience as we plan our next chapter.

Ken Jautz He will continue to serve as the executive vice president of news. Ken has more than a third of our employees worldwide in his operational and manufacturing role. His leadership has been critical to our organization for decades, in a role spanning the past 34 years, and that experience will be even more important as we tackle new operational challenges as we integrate with WBD. Ken will also continue to hold the position of Executive Leader of HLN.

due to jonite Now it will be Integrity and Inclusion’s EVP. This is a newly created position that reflects Jonita’s role as an advocate for news content at CNN and her decades of leadership in diversity, equity and inclusion. In this role, she ensures our voice through linear and digital sales and keeps our brand integrity intact. Jonita has led many unique inclusive initiatives and I have asked her to continue to nurture diverse talents and help them grow within our ranks. The Standards and Practices and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion teams will report to him. Her leadership role at DEI will continue in the world of information and sport.

Thanks to this new structure, Calvin Sims will leave the organization and Calvin’s team will report to Jonita. CNN withstood many storms during Calvin’s tenure, each skillfully navigated. I want to thank Calvin for his talent and his leadership. Please join me in wishing him well for his future endeavors.

Chris Marlin He will serve as executive vice president of business strategy and operations for the group. As you heard me say, Chris is tasked with finding new revenue and optimization opportunities across the company, as well as aligning our resources globally. In this role, you will develop strategic, operational and business structures that extend our business capabilities and keep us on track for results and performance. He will also work closely with WBD on large-scale projects.

Robin Garfield The research director and executive vice president for program content and strategy will remain at the helm of the research and planning teams. He will report to Chris Marlin. Research is essential to our business, and this alignment serves to support our broader business goals.

Chris Korat Kelly Join CNN as Executive Vice President and Director of Communications. Hailing from the Washington Post, Christina has had an impressive career and experience in journalism. In fact, she started right here on CNN. In this role, she Christine will lead our global communications and brand strategy and oversee our CNN global communications and public relations teams as well as global marketing. Rick LechukCreative Marketing SVP will report back to you. Rick will continue to be a driving force behind our global marketing efforts and I want to thank him for keeping us afloat during this transition. Please join me in welcoming Christine to CNN. It will start on August 15 and will be based in New York.

I would like to thank Christine for her statement. Giacomo anderson who served as interim chief of communications. As announced by David Levy in May, James has decided to leave the company after a full 17 years of service. We couldn’t have asked for a better manager during the final months of the transition and I really appreciate James’ flexibility and guidance along the way.

Ramon Escobar He will serve as Senior Vice President of Talent Recruitment and Development in an expanded role that includes overseeing our associates. Ramón is exceptional at what he does; For me, it is imperative that we have your voice at the table. Ramon will continue to work closely with Amy Entelli in her larger role than her and now she reports to me.

Mike McCarthy He will continue to serve as executive vice president and general manager of CNNI. You’ve heard me say we need CNNI now more than ever and Mike’s decades of experience and strong leadership will continue to impact our newsgathering teams around the world.

rani rad He will continue to serve as president of CNN Commercial Worldwide. Even in difficult times, Rani has been able to earn an income, which is not easy; I am grateful to have him on the team.

Lisa Reeves He will continue to hold the role of Senior Vice President of Talent Negotiations and Labor Relations. There is no one better than Lisa in this. We are lucky to have it.

same party He will continue to serve as Senior Vice President and Washington Bureau Chief under my responsibility. His unique role in managing key relationships in Washington and overseeing office operations is essential to this network right now. Few red letters are as heartbroken as Sam’s.

The position of Chief Digital Officer is of the utmost importance to me and a national search is underway to find a permanent leader. until we do Wendy Brundage he will remain interim digital director. I really appreciate Wendy and her leadership during this transition.

We also have shared mission-critical leaders in news and sports, includingElena Russ who will give continuity to the work of the People and Culture (AR) UDC; neil Chuganwho will be the CFO of News & Sports e David Guardian, who will continue to serve as executive vice president and general counsel for news and sports. These leaders impact key parts of our business every day and I am excited to continue to partner with them.

I am very excited to meet these leaders and plan our short and long term goals. I’m sure you have questions about these changes and what they mean – you will have the chance to ask what you think about our next Town Hall on August 11th. More details on this will follow soon.

With this strong team now the real work begins. I have no doubt that these leaders, individually and collectively, will face future challenges and create new opportunities for CNN in the ever-changing media landscape. These senior executives are now developing plans for their leadership teams and we will be sharing those decisions in the coming months. I am very excited about the future of CNN and this team and I want to go ahead and raise my hand together.

Chris