WarnerMedia names UK, Ireland execs

WarnerMedia has put together a leadership team for its UK and Ireland arm following the recent appointment of Polly Cochrane as country manager.

Polly Cochrane

Cochrane replaced long-serving Josh Berger at the end of October as part of Priya Dogra’s new team in EMEA.

Cochrane has now brought on board Alison Morris, Neil Marshall, Rachel Wakley, Alex Lewis, Allan Stenhouse and Charlie Cubbon.

John Stanley will leave the company next year after 14 years at the helm of Warner Bros’ home entertainment operation in UK, Ireland, Spain and the Nordics.

He will step down from his day-to-day management responsibilities at the end of this month and stay on until the end of June 2021 working on a series of transition projects.

Morris, who currently oversees the distribution of Warner Bros, Turner, HBO and HBO Max content, will now lead a newly formed TV and digital distribution group, which also includes home video digital distribution.

She will also integrate Turner affiliate and ad sales into this combined team, working with heads Riccardo Donato and Andrew Mallandaine respectively.

Marshall will continue to lead theatrical film distribution and now also takes on local film production, supported by Patrick Strafford, as well as assuming oversight for all operations in Ireland.

Wakley, who currently oversees consumer products and experiences, will expand her remit to encompass physical video and physical and digital games sales, bringing the company’s entire physical business across all retail and e-commerce channels under her purview.

Lewis will continue to lead film and games marketing. She recently added digital and data strategy and media and brand partnerships as well as games to her remit and will now oversee the marketing of film catalogue in addition to her existing responsibilities for newly released film.

Stenhouse will continue to lead TV marketing, having recently taken on Turner and HBO Home Video marketing and TV distribution support, in addition to the Warner Bros content he continues to manage.

Lewis and Stenhouse will continue to jointly oversee creative services and franchise management for the UK and Ireland.

Charlie Cubbon will lead on commercial development for the UK and Ireland and will also oversee a newly formed central commercial planning team as well as long-term strategy for games.