David Leavy, CNN’s Chief Operating Officer, Will Return to Warner Bros. Discovery

David Leavy, a longtime key lieutenant of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, is leaving his current chief operating officer role at CNN and returning to the network’s parent, according to two people familiar with the matter.

“David arrived at CNN in tumultuous times and did a brilliant job stabilizing the company at a difficult moment. During the transition he led CNN jointly with Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling and played a central part helping me into my role as chairman and CEO before, as COO, leading multiple organizations and teams across revenue, promotion, operations and data,” said Mark Thompson, CNN’s chairman and CEO, in a memo to staff Wednesday. “David fell in love with CNN from the moment he walked in and has supported and championed our journalism and our great brand ever since. He’s always been a voice for change and confidence in the future.”

Details about Leavy’s new corporate role could not be immediately learned. In years past, he has overseen corporate communications and research, among other key areas.

More to come…