Greg Ricca, President and CEO of Discovery Networks International, is to step aside in favour of longtime Discovery executive Mark Hollinger. The current chief operating officer will take up his new role after a period of transition.
“Mark has been my most trusted partner at Discovery. He has been critical to building Discovery into the number one nonfiction media company and creating the best global footprint in all of media,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO of Discovery Communications, to whom Hollinger reports. “Building strong brands and growing audience share around the world is one of our key growth opportunities, and Mark’s fluency in Discovery’s global business, strong leadership skills and vision to grow the business makes him the ideal executive to lead Discovery Networks International into the future.”
Yale Law School educated Hollinger joined Discovery Communications in 1991 as vice president and deputy general counsel. He later headed Discovery Channel Asia in Hong Kong and subsequently became general counsel in 1996, building his management responsibilities, and was appointed COO in January 2008.
He will maintain his responsibilities as COO for Discovery Communications until a successor is named.
