Sarnoff transitioned from chair and CEO of Warner Bros. to her current role in August of this year. She was the first woman to run Warner Bros. in its 97-year history, and is also the first woman to run an entire Hollywood studio. Sarnoff navigated the company’s first-ever PVOD release with “SCOOB!,” which became WarnerMedia’s most successful digital release of all time. In her new role, she’s responsible for all of WarnerMedia’s content-focused teams, and is busy defining and rolling out the structure of the newly formed Studios and Networks group. “None of us has a playbook for dealing with a pandemic, but I’m trying to lead with empathy, clarity and decisiveness to help my team manage through this,” she says.
What is one of your proudest moments during the pandemic? Transitioning our employees to work from home, pivoting “SCOOB!” to successful PVOD release, launching DC FanDome and “Tenet,” and then safely ramping up our films and TV show productions worldwide.
How has your leadership style changed during the pandemic? Like most people, I am connected to my senior team more than ever, and I’m trying to communicate more frequently to the broader organization to make sure that we all feel connected. None of us has a playbook for dealing with a pandemic, but I’m trying to lead with empathy, clarity and decisiveness to help my team manage through this.
What is the biggest factor needed to eliminate gender inequality in the workplace? This is a complex issue, but for me, the biggest factor is helping to get women into the leadership pipeline. The more women there are in leadership positions, the more we have the power to change the game for other women coming up the ranks.
