Discovery Communications made some management changes Thursday, naming former DirecTV marketing chief Paul Guyardo chief commercial officer, and expanding long-time executive Bruce Campbell’s responsibilities to include oversight of its domestic distribution business and its fast-growing Discovery Education division.
Guyardo joins Discovery officially on Oct. 5 in the newly created role, aimed at driving viewer engagement across all platforms.
“Discovery Communications has tremendous content and brands, passionate consumers and a world-class leadership team that I’m honored to join,” Guyardo said in a statement. “The potential for continued growth is enormous and I look forward to getting started.”
As chief commercial officer Guyardo will oversee U.S. ad sales, digital media, licensing and consumer products, consumer insights and data analytics and will report to Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav. Guyardo will be based at Discovery’s New York headquarters. He was formerly executive VP, chief revenue and marketing officer at DirecTV
“Amid a rapidly evolving industry and shifting audience behavior, Discovery has maintained a steady, long-term growth strategy of investing in quality content, launching new networks and products and diversifying our IP mix to strengthen our brands and offerings,” Zaslav said in a statement. “Our go-forward success in a random-access world depends on how well we innovate and monetize our content and brands across platforms. Paul brings a track record of results in growing businesses and creating consumer-centric strategies to launch products, create new revenue streams and engage viewers. Adding him to the management team is a major win for Discovery, our business partners and our audiences, and I look forward to his leadership in creating new ways to drive value for our businesses across platforms now and into the future.”
As chief development, distribution & legal officer, Campbell will gain oversight of the company’s $1.4 billion Domestic Distribution business as well as of Discovery Education – Education president Bill Goodwyn will report to him. Cambell, who most recently served as chief development and legal officer, will be responsible for corporate development, including strategic planning and all M&A activity; all legal affairs, serving as the chief legal advisor to the company’s management and board of directors; business affairs; production management; and the company’s production studios.
Discovery’s brands are among the most widely distributed and highly valued in the world, and it is now more important than ever to innovate the ways in which we partner, distribute and position our company for growth,” Zaslav said in a statement. “Bruce has been my valued partner for many years, and has overseen the most significant business deals in our 30-year history. His strong and steady management style and thoughtful approach to Discovery’s future, coupled with his extensive experience working across our distribution renewals and education acquisitions, make him the right executive to oversee these additional parts of our business, and I look forward to his continued leadership in this expanded role.”
