Ann Sarnoff, who has held a senior film and TV studio role at WarnerMedia for nearly three years, is departing the company ahead of its merger with Discovery.Her exit was confirmed to Deadline by a person familiar with the many moving parts this week ahead of the expected Friday close of the $43 billion merger.
Officially, WarnerMedia reps did not return requests for comment.Sarnoff joined the company in mid-2019 and then was promoted to Chair and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group the following year.
She was the first woman to serve as chairman of a film and TV at a studio. Since Discovery and AT&T first proposed the spun-off combination with WarnerMedia, there had been questions about Sarnoff’s role in the exec structure.News of her exit follows that of CEO Jason Kilar, who told employees that Friday would be his final day.
With Discovery CEO David Zaslav taking charge of the combined entity and the pure-play nature of the new company, there are expected to be fewer layers in the new executive structure.
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