Former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has been hired by Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) to serve as the company’s new chief communications executive, according to a report published this week.
On Tuesday, the Hollywood Reporter said Gibbs was hired to succeed Nathaniel Brown, who left earlier this year following a five-year career with the company and its predecessor, Discovery Communications.
Gibbs most recently served as a partner at Bully Pulpit International, a communications firm that counts McDonald’s, General Mills, Walmart, the ACLU and the Biden-Harris campaign among its clients.
Gibbs served in the White House as President Barack Obama’s press secretary from 2009 to 2011, before leaving the Obama administration to work as the chief communications officer at McDonald’s.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Gibbs was selected both for his ability to coordinate effectively with top managers — including his ability to say “no” where needed — and his deep political background, which could come in handy when WBD needs to lobby lawmakers and other key federal stakeholders in Washington.
A formal announcement could come as soon as Tuesday morning.
The hiring of Gibbs comes at a time when WBD is focused on building out its direct-to-consumer streaming services, including the flagship Max, to serve as a cornerstone for the rest of its entertainment business moving forward. With respect to its deep catalog of classic and hit TV series and movies, WBD has shifted its strategy over the past two years from harboring most of its best content for Max to liberally licensing out shows and movies to rival streaming platforms in an effort to generate additional revenue.
