David Zaslav
PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER, DISCOVERY
2017 DEGREE RECIPIENT
As President and CEO, David Zaslav sets the strategy and oversees
all operations for Discovery’s global suite of brands across pay-TV,
free-to-air and digital platforms. Under his leadership, Discovery
began trading as a public company in 2008 and became
a Fortune 500 company in 2014. Most recently under Zaslav,
Discovery acquired Scripps Networks Interactive, in a transaction
which closed in March of 2018. Together, the combined companies
comprise a world-class portfolio of real-life entertainment brands
comprising nearly 20% of ad-supported pay-TV viewership in the U.S.
and over 7 billion monthly video views. Zaslav has led Discovery since
2007, executing a number of initiatives that have focused the
organization on growth, performance and operational efficiency. He
also has directed a strategic effort to clarify and strengthen
Discovery’s world-class brands with a renewed focus on diversified
content and intellectual property.
Zaslav has led Discovery since 2007, executing a number of
initiatives that have focused the organization on growth, performance
and operational efficiency. He also has directed a strategic effort to
clarify and strengthen Discovery’s world-class brands with a renewed
focus on diversified content and IP.
Since Zaslav took the helm, Discovery has launched some of the
fastest-growing cable networks in the U.S., including Investigation
Discovery, the #1 network for women in total day delivery; and OWN:
Oprah Winfrey Network, the #1 network for African American women.
The company’s global distribution platform has, under Zaslav’s
leadership, expanded to 3 billion cumulative worldwide viewers with a
diverse set of brands, creating an unmatched international portfolio
for viewers, advertisers, and distributors. Zaslav has diversified
Discovery’s content offering with investments such as kids in Latin
America, which have led to Discovery Kids becoming the leading
preschool network across the region. Discovery has further
strengthened its presence in key international markets through
numerous transactions including the acquisition of Eurosport, which
led to the groundbreaking agreement with the International Olympic
Committee making Discovery and Eurosport the home of the Olympic Games
across Europe through 2024.
Zaslav has expanded Discovery’s audiences across all screens with
digital content holding company Group Nine Media; OTT offering
Eurosport Player; the GO portfolio of TVE apps; Discovery K!ds Play;
and in August 2017, the formation of a joint venture between Discovery
and TEN: The Enthusiast Network. The venture will bring together
Discovery’s Velocity network with TEN’s entire automotive digital,
direct-to-consumer, social and live event portfolio and marks
Discovery’s first direct-to-consumer OTT push in the U.S.
Zaslav has received multiple awards for his contributions to the
media industry as well as his philanthropic work, including the
UJA-Federation of New York’s Steven J. Ross Humanitarian Award,
Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
Fred Dressler Leadership Award, the Association of Frontotemporal
Degeneration’s inaugural Susan and S.I. Newhouse Award of Hope, and in
2017, was inducted into the prestigious Cable Hall of Fame.
At Discovery, Zaslav spearheaded the launch and growth of Discovery
Impact, the company’s corporate social responsibility programs. In
2016, Zaslav led the launch of the company’s latest global
conservation initiative, Project C.A.T.: Conserving Acres for Tigers,
to help double the global wild tiger population by 2022.
Prior to joining Discovery, Zaslav had a distinguished career at
NBCUniversal, where he was instrumental in developing and launching
CNBC and also played a role in the creation of MSNBC. He was
previously an attorney with the New York firm of LeBoeuf, Lamb, Leiby
& MacRae and graduated with honors from Boston University School
of Law.
Zaslav serves on the boards of Sirius XM Radio, Inc., Lionsgate
Entertainment, the National Cable & Telecommunications
Association, The Cable Center, Center for Communication, Skills for
America’s Future, Grupo Televisa, Partnership for New York City and
USC Shoah Foundation. He also is a member of the Board of Trustees for
the Paley Center for Media, the Mt. Sinai Medical Center and
previously served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University, where
he created and taught a graduate-level course on the business of cable television.
Source: https://corporate.discovery.com/leadership/david-m-zaslav