WarnerMedia Sets Leadership Teams For France & Germany To Ensure “One WarnerMedia Approach”

As it looks towards the launch of HBO Max in Europe next year, WarnerMedia has set its leadership teams for France & Benelux and Germany/Austria/Switzerland. The group falls under the oversight of longtime Warner Bros exec Iris Knobloch, who was recently named Country Manager for those markets.

Olivier Snanoudj, Eric Broet, Caroline Lang, Guillaume Coffin and Grégory Schuber are taking on leadership responsibilities for France & Benelux while Willi Geike, Steffen Schier, Peter Schauerte, Sylvia Rothblum, Matthias Heinze and Tim van Dyk assume leadership roles for Germany/Austria/Switzerland.

Said Knobloch, “This outstanding group of executives will work together to bring a first-time ‘one WarnerMedia’ approach to our businesses in these important markets, finding new ways to amplify the consumer offering across every touchpoint, and to fully optimize the array of brands, businesses and platforms now at our collective disposal. Their combined strengths across all facets of content creation and delivery give us an exceptional foundation from which to further serve existing audiences and prepare for new ones as we anticipate the future arrival of HBO Max in our markets. Their commercial expertise, innovative thinking and passion for our content will be powerful drivers as we take this new business model forward.”

The management team is made up of existing Warner Bros execs and includes a notable shift for Geike, who was previously Country Manager for Germany/Austria/Switzerland and Poland, and architect of the region’s strong local-language theatrical production business. After recently resigning his long-standing Country Manager position, he will now take on a new role dedicated to local theatrical production in Germany/Austria/Switzerland.

The new leadership teams, each with parallel functions to help promote interaction and collaboration across geographies, unite WarnerMedia’s entertainment networks (including the legacy Turner and HBO businesses) with Warner Bros activities (Theatrical, Consumer Products, TV & Digital distribution, Home Entertainment) to ensure a one WarnerMedia approach across all markets.

The teams will also work in close collaboration with HBO Max’s International chief Johannes Larcher, and HBO Max EMEA regional manager Christina Sulebakk and their teams.

Snanoudj will oversee theatrical distribution for France & Benelux while Schier will be charged with distribution in Germany/Austria/Switzerland.

Home Entertainment and Consumer Products in each region will come together under one leadership. Broet will lead Home Entertainment and Consumer Products for France & Benelux, with the support of Yves Elalouf, head of Home Entertainment for those markets, and Jérôme Ollagnier, head of Consumer Products France. Schauerte will lead Home Entertainment and Consumer Products for Germany/Austria/Switzerland, supported by Veronika Tiedemann, head of Home Entertainment for Germany/Austria/Switzerland and Stefan Hausberg, head of Consumer Products Germany/Austria/Switzerland.

Broet will also be responsible for supervising local theatrical production for France & Benelux.

Lang will continue to lead TV Distribution for France & French Speaking territories and Rothblum continues to lead the same for Germany/Austria/Switzerland and Israel.

Coffin leads Affiliates & Ad Sales for France & Benelux and Heinze leads Affiliates & Ad Sales for Germany/Austria/Switzerland, both as part of their wider briefs. They will coordinate closely with Knobloch and WarnerMedia’s Head of EMEA Affiliates & Ad Sales and Country Manager for Nordics, CEE, MENAT & Africa, Pierre Branco.

Schuber and van Dyk will continue to manage their respective marketing teams in France & Benelux and Germany/Austria/Switzerland.