Discovery, Inc. announced the full slate of director designees for the combined company, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (“WBD”). The directors will be elected and begin serving on the WBD Board effective at the closing of the proposed combination of Discovery, Inc. and WarnerMedia, which is expected to occur early in the second quarter of 2022.
“I look forward to working alongside and benefiting from the collective experience of this group of distinguished leaders to create and grow the world’s most dynamic media entertainment company and a top-tier competitor in streaming. This Board brings diverse personal perspectives, strong track records and invaluable industry knowledge. Its stewardship will help establish the company as the premier creator of impactful storytelling across genres and platforms,” said David Zaslav, the future President & CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and nearly 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere; products such as the GO portfolio of apps; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as discovery+, Food Network Kitchen and MotorTrend OnDemand digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media; a landmark natural history and factual content partnership with the BBC; and a strategic alliance with PGA TOUR to create the international home of golf. Discovery’s portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, Science Channel, and the multi-platform JV with Chip and Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Network, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe.
Paula A. Price was EVP and Chief Financial Officer of Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) from July 2018 to May 2020 and served as Advisor to the renowned retailer until the end of 2020. As CFO, she was also a principal architect of Macy’s transformation journey and, during the COVID 19 pandemic, led its financial restructuring including raising $4.5 billion to recapitalize and sustain the company.
Price has been a Visiting Executive with Harvard Business School since July 2018, and prior to that was a full-time Senior Lecturer of Business Administration in the Accounting and Management Unit, having joined the faculty in July 2014. Until January 2014, Price was EVP & Chief Financial Officer of Ahold USA which she joined in 2009. At Ahold, Price was responsible for Finance, Accounting and Shared Services; Strategy and Planning; Real Estate Development and Construction; and Information Technology. Price transformed the Finance function and delivered a $1 billion cost savings program to fund strategic growth initiatives.
Prior to joining Ahold, Price was Senior Vice President, Controller and Chief Accounting Officer for CVS Caremark Corporation (NYSE: CVS), and a key player in the $26 billion CVS/Caremark merger transaction. Price began her career as an intern in public accounting at Arthur Andersen & Co. before joining full-time with clients that spanned financial services, consumer packaged goods, and healthcare.
Price currently serves as an independent director for public, private, and not-for-profit companies. Today, she serves on the boards of the following publicly traded companies: Accenture (NYSE: ACN) chairing its Audit Committee, Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMS), Warner Bros. Discovery (NASDAQ: WBD) chairing its Audit Committee, and Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC). She is a certified public accountant and audit committee financial expert as defined by the SEC.
Price’s career includes finance, general management, and strategy roles based in New York, Boston, London and Chicago in the retail, financial services, healthcare, and consumer packaged goods sectors.
Price earned her MBA in Finance and Strategy from the University of Chicago, and her BSc in Accountancy from DePaul University.
Price and her family live in Manhattan and on Martha’s Vineyard, where she enjoys painting and outdoor activities.
Debra Lee is Chair of Leading Women Defined Foundation (a nonprofit education and advocacy organization in Los Angeles, California), which she founded in 2009. She has served in this capacity since June 2018. Ms. Lee also co-founded The Monarchs Collective (a management consulting firm in Los Angeles, California), where she has served as a partner since 2020. Ms. Lee served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BET Networks (a global media and entertainment subsidiary of Viacom, Inc., headquartered in New York, New York) from 2006 until her retirement in 2018. Ms. Lee joined BET Networks in 1986 and served in several leadership roles, including President and Chief Executive Officer (2005-2006), President and Chief Operating Officer (1995-2005), and Executive Vice President and General Counsel (1986-1995). Ms. Lee holds a B.A. in political science from Brown University, a master’s in public policy from Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Ms. Lee has extensive leadership in the media and entertainment industry. She brings strong operational and transformational experience through the development and execution of innovative strategic plans.
Other Public Company Directorships: Burberry Group plc; Marriott International, Inc.; The Procter & Gamble Company
Past Public Company Directorships: Twitter, Inc. (2016-2019); WGL Holdings, Inc. (2000-2018)
