2 months ago
Karen Horne has exited her station arsenic Senior V.P. of North America Diversity Equity and Inclusion for Warner Bros. Discovery arsenic portion of nan company’s restructuring. A WBD memo from Chief Global DEI Officer Asif Sadiq to staffers, which Variety has obtained, revealed nan news connected Friday.
Horne oversaw nan DEI efforts for imaginative talent improvement pipeline programs, workforce, contented and accumulation while moving intimately pinch Sadiq to trade a world strategy for nan company.
She joined nan institution successful March of 2020, and was responsible for creating and implementing aggregate pipeline programs that purpose to amplify nan voices of underrepresented communities. Prior to her appointment, Horne was astatine NBC Entertainment and Universal Television Studios arsenic Senior Vice President, Programming Talent Development and Inclusion wherever she was responsible for overseeing in-front-of and behind-the-camera primetime diverseness efforts for NBC and Universal Television. While there, she started nan Late-Night Writers Workshop successful 2013.
According to nan memo, Horne’s departure comes not arsenic portion of nan caller inclination of loop tightening passim Hollywood, but arsenic a consequence of restructuring arsenic Warner Bros. Discovery moves to toggle shape its strategy of having group successful regions focused connected worker initiatives.
“We will now person designated leads who are tasked solely pinch employee-related initiatives successful each region. This will alteration our contented programme leads to person a genuinely world position erstwhile processing opportunities for divers talent and expanding practice connected surface and down nan camera, while ensuring nan location leads tin attraction connected really we educate, empower, and prosecute our employees,” nan connection reads.
“As a consequence of this caller approach, Karen Horne, Senior Vice President of North America DE&I, who has a wide DE&I portfolio beyond employee-related initiatives, will beryllium departing nan company. As you know, Karen is simply a talented executive who is committed to our shared goals of creating an moreover much inclusive institution and an accessible and equitable industry. I convey Karen for nan important domiciled she played successful establishing a beardown instauration while integrating nan bequest companies’ teams and programs, and wish her nan very best. We will statesman a hunt soon for a caller group vice president of North America DE&I to oversee our employee-focused DE&I initiatives, and will beryllium speaking to some soul and outer candidates complete nan adjacent respective weeks,” it continued.
Read nan memo successful afloat below.
It has been astir a twelvemonth since I assumed my domiciled and began moving pinch this incredibly talented and innovative world team. Together, we person made awesome strides toward creating and implementing a holistic diversity, equity and inclusion strategy that efficaciously serves WBD employees, our imaginative partners, divers talent industry-wide, arsenic good arsenic consumers astir nan world.
I americium proud of nan activity we person done and cognize that moreover much accomplishments and advancement are up for america this twelvemonth and successful 2024. I want to stock immoderate news astir really we are some increasing and changing our squad truthful that we astir efficaciously service nan unsocial location needs of employees.
We will now person designated leads who are tasked solely pinch employee-related initiatives successful each region. This will alteration our contented programme leads to person a genuinely world position erstwhile processing opportunities for divers talent and expanding practice connected surface and down nan camera, while ensuring nan location leads tin attraction connected really we educate, empower, and prosecute our employees.
As a consequence of this caller approach, Karen Horne, Senior Vice President of North America DE&I, who has a wide DE&I portfolio beyond employee-related initiatives, will beryllium departing nan company. As you know, Karen is simply a talented executive who is committed to our shared goals of creating an moreover much inclusive institution and an accessible and equitable industry. I convey Karen for nan important domiciled she played successful establishing a beardown instauration while integrating nan bequest companies’ teams and programs, and wish her nan very best. We will statesman a hunt soon for a caller group vice president of North America DE&I to oversee our employee-focused DE&I initiatives, and will beryllium speaking to some soul and outer candidates complete nan adjacent respective weeks.
Our world building will travel a akin model. We are successful nan process of identifying a caller group vice president to subordinate our team. Niarchos Pabalis, Mona Malakooti, and nan personification who fills nan unfastened head position successful EMEA will study to this caller GVP. In summation to providing counsel to nan location leads and adding further expertise to our group, nan GVP will activity intimately pinch me, Gerhard Zeiler, President, International, and his activity squad to beforehand accrued engagement astir programs for our employees.
Importantly, these changes do not change our committedness to aliases our plans for pipeline programs and content-driven initiatives — these are basal pillars of our DE&I strategy and will proceed to beryllium areas of finance and focus. Grace Moss and Yvette Urbina will proceed to study to maine straight while moving intimately pinch nan location teams.
I will support you updated arsenic we place leaders to capable these cardinal roles successful our caller structure. In nan meantime, convey you for your unthinkable dedication to our squad and nan important activity we do. Please scope retired pinch immoderate thoughts aliases questions.
