British television giant ITV has added former Discovery chief executive Marjorie Kaplan to its board of directors.
She will join the board as an independent non-executive director effective September 1, the firm said Monday. Kaplan left then-Discovery in 2016, long before her big business that created Warner Bros. Discovery.
“Marjorie spent 20 years as a senior executive in the global media industry at Discovery, where she oversaw spectacular growth across multiple major networks in the US, the international division’s global content activities across the portfolio around the world,” said ITV. “Marjorie is American and has substantial experience in both the US and Europe with a track record as a change agent, transforming and growing global brands and businesses and building vibrant organizations.”
Kaplan currently serves as a career mentor and faculty director at Merryck & Co., a global firm that provides experienced CEOs and senior business leaders who help organizations “accelerate leadership impact.” She is also a non-executive director of German television giant ProSiebenSat.1 Media and ArtDAI, a fintech company focused on fine art data, analytics and intelligence.
“Marjorie has exceptionally strong experience around audience and content strategy, which will further strengthen the diverse mix of knowledge and experience on the board,” said Andrew Cosslett, ITV Chairman.
Said Kaplan: “This is a vital time in the media industry and an exciting time to join ITV as it adapts to changes in the business while maintaining its leading position in production, broadcast and streaming. I look forward to partnering with the board and executive team as the company’s strategic transformation continues to gain momentum.”
Last week, ITV reported lower first-half financial results, citing a “challenging” advertising market and investments in its streaming service ITVX.
