New Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff Calls For Innovation, Change On First Day

Warner Bros’ new CEO Ann Sarnoff has officially taken her job and is calling for innovation and change on her first day.

In a memo that was sent out to Warner Bros employees, Ann Sarnoff mentions how proud she was that she was to be joining the company and how it was the gold standard for entertainment for nearly a hundred years and believed that they could keep it up for another hundred. Ann Sarnoff went on to say that they needed to keep looking at new business models and new platforms and to continue to innovate and find new opportunities. Ann Sarnoff then thanked everyone for their ongoing contributions to Warner Bros and the interim CEO team for leading Warner Bros during the transition. Finally, Ann Sarnoff stated that she would be hosting a Town Hall meeting early next month and stated that they would learn more about what they are planning later that day.

You can see Ann Sarnoff’s full memo below:

Dear Colleagues:

I’ve been looking forward to saying that for two months…

Today is my first day at Warner Bros., and I wanted to let you know how proud I am to be joining the company and all of you. Warner Bros. has been the gold standard in entertainment for almost 100 years, and with the efforts of our global team, I believe we can continue that streak for another 100.

I’ve had the chance to meet with the senior management team, and I’m excited to help build on the company’s legacy of creativity and innovation. This is an exciting—and challenging—time in the entertainment industry, and we need to keep looking at new business models, new competitors, new content platforms and formats—and finding new opportunities. With our talent, expertise and unmatched IP, we’re in a great position to capitalize on them.

I’d like to acknowledge that despite the many changes that have occurred across the industry and here at the company, your focus and commitment to excellence have kept us on track to realize our ambitious goals. I cannot thank you enough for your ongoing contributions to Warner Bros.’ success. Every interaction I’ve had has confirmed my belief that a company’s people make the culture, and Warner Bros.’ culture of respect, integrity, creativity and inclusion is a direct result of the passion in each of you.

Finally, I want to thank Toby Emmerich, Peter Roth and Kim Williams for stepping in and serving as the interim CEO team. They’ve done a masterful job, and I will continue to rely on them in the days ahead.

I look forward to hearing from you and to sharing a little more of my story. As a first step, I’ll be hosting a Town Hall on Wednesday, September 4. You’ll be receiving more information on that later today.

In the meantime, I’m going to roll up my sleeves and get busy. Quoting Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca”— “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

I hope to see you all on the 4th.

Best regards,

Ann

From the look of things, Ann Sarnoff has big plans in store for Warner Bros.

Earlier this year, Ann Sarnoff was announced as the new CEO of Warner Bros. This followed a three month period where Warner Bros. had a trio of temporary CEOs after the resignation of Kevin Tsujihara. Tsujihara resigned as CEO and Chairman of Warner Bros following an investigation into his past relationship with an actress who apparently sought his help getting acting roles during a sexual relationship the two shared.

What do you all make of this memo? Are you glad to hear that Ann Sarnoff is demanding innovation and change on her first day? Do you think Warner Bros is good hands? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Source: Deadline