internal
David M. Zaslav
President and Chief Executive Officer
Executive
4 yr
10 reports
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. ·WBD
Streaming, Studios, and Linear run as parallel CEO-level pillars
Media · Fortune #114 · Functional structure · 35K employees · New York, NY
7
CEO span
↓ tighter than peers (avg 10)
2.4
Avg span
tight
3
Max depth
3 levels
3 yr
Avg tenure
71%
Internal hires
↑ above industry avg
Consolidated financials FY2025 · period end 2025-12-31 · 10-K
Revenue
$37.3B
Operating income
$738M
Net income
$727M
Total assets
$100.1B
Shares out
2.48B
Sourced from Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. DEF 14A · filed 2026-04-30 ↗ View on SEC
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Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. organizational chart
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Streaming, Studios, and Linear businesses report in parallel to CEO David Zaslav, an unusual peer-level structure for a major media company. This page maps WBD’s executive org, recent leadership changes, compensation, and compares its structure with other global media peers.
What to model
Use the chart to test org decisions, not just view reporting lines
Start with the public baseline, then use the scenario views and source-backed changes to ask what happens when leadership, span, or team ownership shifts.
Latest signal Gunnar Wiedenfels joined as CFO contract renewal
Entered new CFO employment agreement effective July 11, 2026.
Source · See change logScenario views in the chart
- Add Chief AI Officer Introduce a Chief AI Officer to coordinate AI strategy across content, ad tech, and streaming platforms.
- Consolidate Studios and Streaming Move Studios leadership under the Streaming CEO to simplify content P&L ownership.
Atlas work this supports
- Connect Workday or UKG Get these analytics for YOUR org — tenure, span of control, headcount, automatically from your HRIS.
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- Plan a Reorg Use this as a starting point. Model scenarios, compare structures, present options to your board.
The people
Who's running this
7 executives identified as Named Executive Officers in the most recent SEC proxy. Bar length scales with tenure.
internal
Jean-Briac Perrette
CEO and President, Global Streaming and Games
Streaming & Games
3 yr
1 reports
internal
Gunnar Wiedenfels
Chief Financial Officer
Finance
4 yr
2 reports
internal
Bruce L. Campbell
Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer
Revenue & Strategy
3 yr
0 reports
Priya R. Aiyar
Chief Legal Officer
Legal
1 yr
0 reports
internal
Pamela Abdy
Co-Chair, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group
Studios
3 yr
0 reports
Michael De Luca
Co-Chair, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group
Studios
3 yr
0 reports
The pay
Executive compensation
From the most recent DEF 14A Summary Compensation Table. 1 named executive officers disclosed. Bar length scales with total compensation.
David M. Zaslav $165.0M
- Base salary
- $3.00M
- Stock awards
- $109.59M
- Option awards
- $22.60M
- Non-equity incentive
- $25.73M
- Other
- $4.09M
- Fiscal year
- FY2025
- Source
- SEC DEF 14A ↗
The skin in the game
Beneficial ownership
Insider stock holdings and the company's ownership requirements for executives and directors. Disclosed in the most recent DEF 14A.
Stock ownership requirements
6×CEO base salary
2×NEO base salary
5×Director cash retainer
CEO must also hold 1.5 million shares.
The businesses
How Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. divides the work
3 divisions report into the group CEO. Tile size scales with estimated headcount.
Streaming
8K employees
CEO and President, Global Streaming and Games (Jean-Briac Perrette)
Operates HBO Max and global direct-to-consumer streaming platforms.
Studios
12K employees
Co-Chair, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group (Pamela Abdy / Michael De Luca)
Produces and distributes film, television, and interactive content.
Global Linear Networks
10K employees
CEO, Global Linear Networks
Operates domestic and international cable and broadcast networks.
The thesis
Why this org is unusual
Streaming, Studios, and Linear businesses each sit at the same level under the CEO rather than being consolidated under a single operating president.
This structure reflects WBD’s deliberate choice to preserve distinct P&L accountability for its largest content engines during a period of strategic optionality. The CEO’s span includes multiple business heads alongside classic functional roles, resulting in a broad but shallow hierarchy.
The model favors speed and optional separation, which aligns with the company’s announced and later abandoned spin plans and eventual Paramount Skydance merger. It also explains why WBD has avoided adding a COO: operational authority is already embedded directly in the segment CEOs.
- No group COO
- Parallel CEO-level business units
- Merger-driven structural flexibility
The comparison
How Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. stacks up
Compared with Disney and Comcast, WBD places more business-unit CEOs directly under the group CEO rather than routing them through a COO or president. Netflix remains more centralized, while Paramount historically mirrored WBD’s multi-CEO model. WBD’s approach increases CEO span but simplifies separation or M&A …
C-suite size
Reporting depth
Avg C-suite tenure
Current signals
What changed recently
The most consequential change was the 2025 reorganization aligning Streaming, Studios, and Linear Networks as parallel CEO-level units.
Leadership Timeline
Year-over-year executive structure based on SEC proxy and annual filings.
FY2025
DEF 14A filed 2026-04-30
- CEO
- David M. Zaslav
- CEO span
- 7
- C-suite
- 5
- Avg tenure
- 3.2 yr
Structure emphasized separation readiness and parallel business leadership.
Named executive officers (5)
- David M. Zaslav - CEO since 2022
- Gunnar Wiedenfels - CFO since 2022
- Priya R. Aiyar - Chief Legal Officer since 2025
- Bruce L. Campbell - Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer since 2023
- Jean-Briac Perrette - CEO, Global Streaming and Games since 2022
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery?
David M. Zaslav has served as President and CEO since the company’s formation in 2022.
What type of organizational structure does Warner Bros. Discovery use?
WBD uses a functional structure with parallel business-unit CEOs for Streaming, Studios, and Linear Networks.
How many direct reports does Warner Bros. Discovery's CEO have?
The CEO has seven direct reports, including business-unit CEOs and functional chiefs.
How has Warner Bros. Discovery's leadership changed recently?
Recent changes include a 2025 corporate reorganization and new contracts for senior executives ahead of the Paramount merger.
Does Warner Bros. Discovery have a COO?
No. WBD has no COO; major operating businesses report directly to the CEO.
Sources
- 8-K Filing, Apr 29 2026
- Company Proxy Statement, Apr 2026
- Company Press Release, Jun 2025
- SEC EDGAR: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. DEF 14A Proxy Statement
- SEC EDGAR: Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. 10-K Annual Report
Reference
Cite this page
If you reference this page in research, analysis, or news writing, use one of the formats below. Citation includes the SEC filing source where applicable.
APA 7th
Creately. (2026). Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. organizational structure. Creately. Retrieved , from https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/warner-bros-discovery/MLA 9th
"Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Organizational Structure." Creately, April 1, 2026, https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/warner-bros-discovery/. Accessed .Chicago 17
Creately. "Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. Organizational Structure." Last modified April 1, 2026. https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/warner-bros-discovery/.Original SEC source View on SEC ↗
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.. DEF 14A. Filed 2026-04-30. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1437107/000143710726000046/wbd-20260429.htmPermanent URL: https://creately.com/org-chart/fortune-500/warner-bros-discovery/ · last updated 2026-04-01