Ann Marie Sarnoff (
néeMisiaszek; born c. 1961)[1] is an American television executive.[2] She became the chairwoman and
CEO of
Warner Bros. in the summer of 2019.[3] Sarnoff was the first woman to hold the position at the company.[4]
From 1993 to 2003, Sarnoff worked at
Viacom. Her first job at Viacom was in the corporate development department.[12] After leaving corporate, Sarnoff was the head of
Nickelodeon consumer products and business development during
Geraldine Laybourne's leadership of the company.[13] In 1999, while working at Nickelodeon, Sarnoff was part of a team that created the TV channel
Noggin, a
joint venture between Nickelodeon and
Sesame Workshop. Sarnoff also helped create the television channel
TV Land, which started off as Nick at Nite's TV Land in 1996.[14] Two shows she promoted were Rugrats and Blue's Clues. Sarnoff served as executive vice-president of business strategy and program enterprises at
VH1.[15]
In 2001, she became chief operating officer of
VH1 and
Country Music Television, with the task of integrating the two channels.[10][16] During her time at VH1, Sarnoff launched the TV channel,
VH1 Classic.[17]
In 2006, Sarnoff joined
Dow Jones Ventures as president and senior vice president of strategy, a position she held for four years.[18][19] In this position, she ran the executive conference business for The Wall Street Journal.[20][21]
From 2010 to 2015, Sarnoff was chief operating officer of BBC Worldwide North America, where she worked with
Herb Scannell, who she had worked with at Nickelodeon.[22] In August 2015, Sarnoff became president of BBC Studios Americas, formerly known as BBC Worldwide Americas.[8] In 2015, she launched the subscription TV channel,
BBC Earth, and promoted shows like Doctor Who, Top Gear, Dancing with the Stars, Sherlock, Orphan Black, and Killing Eve.[23] From 2016 to 2018, Sarnoff was head of BBC Worldwide's Global Production Network.[9] In 2017, she launched
Britbox, a streaming service for North America.[24][25]
In 1990, Sarnoff married Richard Sarnoff, a former media executive who works in
private equity.[1][10][30] They live in New York City and have two children.[7][9][13] She relocated to Los Angeles for her position at Warner Bros.[3]
Sarnoff's husband's great uncle,
David Sarnoff, was the long-time chairman of
RCA, a pioneer of American television and radio, and was known as "The General" or "General Sarnoff".[31] He is credited with founding
NBC in 1926 and
RKO Radio Pictures in 1928.[2]
Misiaszek Sarnoff, Ann (2006). "I Do Know How She Does It". In Morgan Steiner, Leslie (ed.). Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families. New York: Random House.
ISBN978-1-588-36598-9.
OCLC430501644.
Pham, Tiffany; Sarnoff, Ann (2018). "Crush It In Corporate Life". You Are a Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do It Yourself, and Do It Now. New York: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN978-1-501-19187-9.
OCLC1050872266.
^
abMisiaszek Sarnoff, Ann (2006). "I Do Know How She Does It". In Morgan Steiner, Leslie (ed.). Mommy Wars: Stay-at-Home and Career Moms Face Off on Their Choices, Their Lives, Their Families. New York: Random House.
ISBN978-1-588-36598-9.
OCLC430501644.
^Pham, Tiffany; Sarnoff, Ann (2018). "Crush It In Corporate Life". You Are a Mogul: How to Do the Impossible, Do It Yourself, and Do It Now. New York: Simon & Schuster.
ISBN978-1-501-19187-9.
OCLC1050872266.