Cochrane to run WarnerMedia UK, Ireland

WarnerMedia EMEA and Asia has promoted Polly Cochrane to the role of country manager for the UK and Ireland.

Polly Cochrane

Cochrane has been with WarnerMedia for 11 years, most recently as executive VP and group marketing director for Warner Bros UK and Ireland and chief marketing officer for Harry Potter Global Franchise Development.

The promotion was made by Priya Dogra, who became head of WarnerMedia EMEA and Asia, excluding China, this summer.

Cochrane will oversee all commercial and group marketing activities in the region and will report to Dogra.

The move comes as Josh Berger, president and MD of Warner Bros in the UK, Ireland and Spain, prepares to leave after 30 years in senior leadership roles at the US studio.

He will step down in December but will remain advisor to senior management until the middle of 2021, handling the Harry Potter franchise.

Cochrane’s colleagues on the WarnerMedia EMEA leadership team, which recently underwent a restructure, include recently promoted fellow country managers Iris Knobloch (France, Benelux, Germany, Austria and Switzerland), Barbara Salabè (Italy) and Pierre Branco (CEE, Nordics, the Middle East, Turkey and Africa), who is also head of affiliate and ad sales for EMEA.

Other executive leadership colleagues include the recently promoted Hannes Heyelmann and Antony Root, who lead general entertainment programming and original production, respectively.

Rounding out the team, Pedro Cosa continues to lead data and insights for networks, while Lesley Bailey and Cecilia Persson still head the central EMEA kids and young adults team, reporting to both Dogra and Tom Ascheim, president of kids, young adults and classics for WarnerMedia.

The reorganisation follows WarnerMedia bringing the international operations of Warner Bros, HBO and Turner under one executive for the first time, with Gerhard Zeiler, to whom Dogra reports, named as head of WarnerMedia International.

Dogra said: “Polly brings a strong and inclusive leadership style, combined with a proven innovative approach to driving our beloved brands and franchises. As she takes on this broader set of responsibilities, our business will benefit from her wealth of experience in the UK media sector.”