Warner Bros Discovery rejig: Arjun Nohwar made GM, India; Megha Tata to move on

Warner Bros. Discovery has made several changes in its regional leadership team. This was announced by Clement Schwebig, President & Managing Director of Warner Bros. Discovery in India, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.

Speaking on the new look Warner Bros. Discovery leadership team, Clement Schwebig said, “Our region, which covers India, Southeast Asia and Korea (“INSEAK”), will be structured with a territory focused approach to be more agile and locally relevant. At the same time, we will leverage our scale across the business and region to provide deeper expertise and greater efficiency. This means some functions will be in-country while others are regional. This is our strength and advantage.”

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India and Korea

Arjun Nohwar will be General Manager India. Previously responsible for the launch of HBO Max in India, Nohwar brings a digital experience that will help prepare the company for its next phase of growth.

Meanwhile, Megha Tata has decided to move on as Managing Director - South Asia of Discovery Inc. Commenting on Tata’s exit, Clement Schwebig said, “I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Megha Tata who will be leaving the company. She has done an incredible job over the years leading the success of Discovery’s portfolio and brands in India, including the launch of the Discovery+ streaming service.”

Jeeyoung Lee will be General Manager, Korea. In her tenure at Discovery, she helped built a strong production unit that will be a fundamental pillar of the organisation’s future strategy in Korea.

Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong

Shonali Bedi will lead Affiliate Distribution and Digital Partnerships for Southeast Asia, while she continues to head Business Development and Insights regionwide.

Cindy Ma will lead Affiliate Distribution and Advertising Sales for Taiwan.

Yasmin Zahid, who has been synonymous with HBO/WarnerMedia Affiliate Distribution for the past 3 decades, will be leaving the company following a transition period. “It has been a true privilege to work with Yasmin and she deserves all the credit for our fantastic affiliate relationships,” Schwebig said.

On the Content (Programming, Original Production and Acquisition) side, Warner Bros. Discovery will operate 3 verticals:

• Magdalene Ew will continue to head Entertainment
• Christopher Ho will head Kids
• Lynn Ng will head Factual & Lifestyle whilst she continues her current role for Content Ops for the wider region

Leslie Lee, who was heading WarnerMedia Kids in APAC, is moving on from the company. Commenting on his exit, Schwebig said, “With our Kids portfolio being a leader in the region, Leslie leaves the company with a distinguished tenure that includes the recent launch of Cartoonito and numerous Asian originals including the International Emmy nominated Lamput.”

INSEAK Regional

Spanning across the entire INSEAK region:

Kurt Rieder will continue to lead Theatrical Distribution as well as being part of the international theatrical operations headed by Andrew Cripps.

Jae Chang will continue to lead TV Distribution and Home Entertainment.

Vikram Sharma will lead Consumer Products Licensing, while he continues to oversee Advertising Sales for Southeast Asia.

Jason Monteiro will head an Integrated Marketing team across INSEAK in addition to his coordination role for the streaming services. He will manage Marketing and Creatives Services across all lines of business, while working closely with the D2C marketing team.

Meanwhile, Athreyan ‘Auto’ Sundararajan will be departing the company, having established an award-winning creative force. “He has been outstanding in uniting and leading the marketing and creative teams of the legacy WarnerMedia businesses,” Schwebig said.

Adding further, he also thanked Tony Qiu for his tremendous support on Southeast Asia during this transition as he continues with his current role for China.

Furthermore, James Gibbons, President, Japan, Australia and New Zealand and Schwebig will share resources in Content Operations, Insights and Creative Services to increase efficiency and effectiveness.

Next Steps

Schwebig will be meeting the new INSEAK leadership team over the next week and will be working closely with them to finalise the organisation’s key priorities for the next 18 months.

“I am extremely excited with the talent we have and the opportunities that lie ahead – from our streaming services HBO GO in Southeast Asia and Discovery+ in India to the growth potential of the Kids space in India, our growing unscripted content output in Korea and what promises to be some of the biggest movies like ‘Super Pets’ and ‘Black Adam’. And there is so much more!,” he exclaimed.