WarnerMedia names EMEA kids chief

WarnerMedia has appointed Vanessa Brookman to the new role of head of kids for EMEA.

Vanessa Brookman

Brookman’s new position integrates operational, editorial and creative responsibilities for all children’s content and channel brands in EMEA into a single remit.

The exec, who joined the company in 2015, will jointly report to Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia EMEA and Asia, excluding China, and Tom Ascheim, president for global kids, young adults and classics.

Brookman most recently served as VP of content, brands and digital, UK and Northern Europe, responsible for content strategy for the company’s kids and general entertainment portfolio across the UK, Nordic and Baltic countries.

The portfolio Brookman will now oversee includes Cartoon Network as well as Boomerang, Boing and Cartoonito, as well as associated digital properties on third-party and on owned WarnerMedia streaming platforms.

The media giant confirmed earlier this month that WarnerMedia-owned HBO’s streaming services in Europe will start to rebrand as HBO Max in the second half of 2021.

Brookman will work with Johannes Larcher and Christina Sulebakk and their teams on HBO Max to “help build a powerful kids proposition for the streaming service when it launches in due course in the EMEA markets,” WarnerMedia said.

The appointment comes after Patricia Hidalgo, senior VP and chief content and creative officer at Turner EMEA and International Kids, left WarnerMedia, while its head of kids and general entertainment channels for France, French-speaking territories and Africa Julien Borde joined Paris-based independent media group Mediawan.

Prior to joining WarnerMedia in August 2015 as VP for content and creative in the UK and Northern Europe region, Brookman was VP of programming for MTV at Viacom International Media Networks.

Before that she was head of fiction and children’s, commercial agency at BBC Vision and previously held roles at Channel 4 and Channel 5 in the UK.

Dogra said: “Vanessa’s proven track record across every aspect of the kids business, including multi-territory brand management, acquisitions, commissioning and programming, both in the linear and SVoD space, make her exceptionally well-suited to this role.

“This will be invaluable to our strategies for the ongoing success of our existing channels whilst also shaping the HBO Max kids offering for the EMEA region.”

Ascheim added: “Vanessa exemplifies passionate, innovative and inclusive leadership, and is a genuine fan of great kids’ content. She brings a strong business acumen honed from her career in different roles across the media industry, coupled with her ability to motivate teams, foster collaboration and align around a unified vision.”