Meet Gunnar Wiedenfels, the finance chief about to steer WBD networks

By day, Gunnar Wiedenfels is the chief monetary officer of Warner Bros. Discovery and the CEO-elect of Discovery International, one half of the soon-to-be-split firm.

In his off hours, Wiedenfels is a beekeeper.

The media govt picked up apiculture together with his kids as a option to soften their fears about bugs. He referred to as it “an unforgettable expertise” and a terrific life lesson. It is also supplied vacation items of honey for his colleagues.

“Though it has been irritating at occasions to only maintain these hives surviving,” Wiedenfels instructed CNBC in an interview, “one of many best classes with bees is you need to maintain calm. By no means strive inspecting your hives when pressured or in a rush. It will not finish nicely. The identical hive, when approached quarter-hour later in peace, often is the most welcome.”

Wiedenfels stated the identical knowledge applies to his day job and his subsequent step.

In June, Warner Bros. Discovery introduced its intention to separate into two public corporations, successfully reversing the merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery three years in the past. Wiedenfels will take the helm of Discovery International, the corporate that can home WBD’s TV networks together with CNN, HGTV and TNT.

The streaming and studio belongings of Warner Bros. Discovery, to be renamed Warner Bros., will probably be run by present CEO David Zaslav. Each corporations will commerce publicly by mid-2026, in accordance with company filings.

The separation places Wiedenfels within the CEO seat for the primary time to steer an organization with one of many largest portfolios of cable networks within the U.S. His monetary background and up to date initiatives at WBD have earned Wiedenfels a repute as a shrewd decision-maker centered on the numbers.

“I feel with Gunnar, he is the cost-cutting man. He is the hard-nosed accountant, cost-focused, cost-cutter,” stated John Hodulik, an analyst at UBS. “And that is what this enterprise goes to wish. His job is to remain forward of the declines on the fee aspect, and albeit, he is good for it.”

After the 2022 merger of WarnerMedia and Discovery, Wiedenfels needed to cope with a debt load that originally totaled $56 billion. It is since been reduce all the way down to roughly $35 billion.

“We have come a really good distance over these 3½ years,” Wiedenfels stated.

Colleagues from throughout the Warner Bros. Discovery enterprise stated in a sequence of interviews that Wiedenfels has executed greater than reduce budgets, nevertheless. He is additionally been integral to funding, development and getting ready the enterprise to be break up into two viable corporations.

He takes the helm at a pivotal second for media, as yearslong declines in pay TV clients present indicators of stabilization and a rebalancing of priorities brings a new crop of decision-makers like Wiedenfels to the fore.

Turning Discovery International into an investor darling will not be straightforward. Warner Bros. Discovery shares have fallen greater than 50% for the reason that April 2022 merger, largely as a result of shareholders considered cable networks as declining belongings that weighed down the corporate’s development prospects.

Most of WBD’s remaining debt will probably be transferred to Discovery International, which might put the corporate in a tough place to concurrently reveal development and repay debt. Wiedenfels stated he believes each will be executed, noting the networks are nonetheless a money cow and there are not any near-term debt maturities, leaving room to do offers.

Nonetheless, the onus is on Wiedenfels to present traders a purpose to consider in Discovery International’s narrative.

He does not count on the enterprise to return to its glory days. Streaming providers have lastly begun to achieve profitability and whereas conventional pay TV networks are nonetheless worthwhile, that quantity is shrinking.

“I am not attempting to place it as a development firm,” Wiedenfels stated. “We all know the secular traits, however these are monumental belongings we are able to construct on and construct round.”

He’ll additionally should handle a wearied group of staff, lots of whom have lived by a number of value-draining mergers, together with AOL’s 2000 acquisition of Time Warner (nonetheless the most important U.S. deal ever at $165 billion and infrequently referred to as the worst deal of all time), AT&T’s 2018 acquisition of Time Warner ($85.4 billion, and likewise within the working for worst deal ever) and WarnerMedia’s 2022 merger with Discovery.

A lot of the mandatory cost-cutting at WBD has taken place for the reason that merger, in accordance with an individual near the corporate, and discussions have already began about development methods for Discovery International’s streaming and the worldwide enterprise, amongst different items.

Zaslav, who spoke to CNBC in an interview, championed Wiedenfels for the function of CEO for Discovery International, saying he was struck by how shortly the finance chief discovered all features of the Warner Bros. Discovery enterprise.

“There’s just one assembly with Gunnar,” stated Zaslav. “He’ll ask all of the questions and put it out on the desk. He is a really actual man. He is very direct, and he is extraordinarily likable.”

That likability ought to assist appease an worker base which has develop into shell-shocked with cuts and layoffs over many years of mergers.

Having staff’ backs will probably be pivotal in positioning Discovery International as a sustainable new media firm.

“There’s virtually no enterprise that I have been concerned in that we have gotten proper after we launched and it labored. It’s a must to struggle to get it proper,” stated Zaslav. “[Wiedenfels is] a fighter. I imply, he is actually a fighter. He will get up early within the morning and he takes boxing lessons.”

Wiedenfels and his household got here to the U.S. in 2017 when he was provided the CFO function at Discovery. Earlier than that, he had been CFO at German leisure firm ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE since 2015 and was thought-about inheritor obvious to the CEO.

“He was actually an uncommon CFO, in a manner, as a result of he might equally do a tricky restructuring or constructing of a brand new enterprise. He might additionally do offers,” stated Thomas Ebeling, the previous CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE. “His management type was at all times an lively one and constructive.”

Whereas on the German firm, Wiedenfels was concerned within the enlargement into the digital area and figuring out synergies between TV, promoting and digital, stated Ebeling. In two or three years, Wiedenfels was instrumental within the firm inking 24 offers, Ebeling added.

“I feel most of them labored out nicely,” Ebeling stated.

Whereas he has continued on the deal-making path at WBD, Wiedenfels’ mandate additionally expanded as he dug into varied components of the media enterprise.

The early days after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger had been marked by a sequence of cost-cutting measures as Zaslav and his executives set out on a mission to seek out at the least $3.5 billion in synergies.

A lot of these money-saving selections grabbed headlines.

Weeks into the beginning of the brand new firm, CNN’s then newly launched streaming platform, CNN+, was shut down in a jarring reversal of what had been a buzzy enlargement into direct-to-consumer.

Star-studded HBO reveals like “Westworld” had been canceled, and straight-to-streaming films like DC Comics’ “Batgirl” had been scrapped. Content material was pulled from its flagship streaming platform, HBO Max, and a few of HBO’s marquee reveals like, “Intercourse and the Metropolis,” had been licensed out for the primary time to Netflix.

WBD has additionally reduce 1000’s of jobs within the span of three years. As of December, the corporate had greater than 35,000 staff.

Zaslav stated a lot of this cost-cutting adopted the information. Wiedenfels constructed a crew centered on the analytics of WBD’s content material, Zaslav stated. For each piece of content material, questions on its worth on streaming or worldwide platforms, in addition to potential viewership and demand, had been entrance and middle.

“It gave us the conviction to say we’re not going to do [movies direct-to-streaming] anymore; we’ll theater. It was unpopular however it was demonstrable,” stated Zaslav.

Then final yr, TNT Sports activities walked away from NBA media rights, ceding floor in dwell sports activities to NBCUniversal, Disney and Amazon.

TNT Sports activities Chairman and CEO Luis Silberwasser instructed CNBC that WBD was good to drop NBA media rights, which it had been paying $1.4 billion yearly for.

“We held the road on the NBA and stated there’s going to be a degree the place it is not price it and it should put large danger on the enterprise,” stated Silberwasser in an interview.

Silberwasser and Zaslav each cited different dwell sports activities rights that the corporate has picked up.

“He is spent a number of time during the last three years actually entering into the trenches,” stated Silberwasser. “He is the individual that greenlit all the investments that we made in Roland-Garros, NASCAR, amongst others, so he has proven he is prepared to spend, too.”

The corporate additionally renegotiated distribution offers with six main pay TV suppliers and stored charges regular regardless of the lack of NBA rights, a key transfer for the long run Discovery International, Zaslav stated.

Wiedenfels’ evaluation did not simply determine areas to tug again, in accordance with his colleagues. It additionally highlighted areas for additional funding.

He recognized Warner Bros.’ animation unit as a possible supply of development, supplied it obtained extra funding. And shortly after, its crew was resurrected, business veteran Invoice Damaschke was employed and content material was in growth.

Equally, the corporate centered on rebuilding its movie studio — a vibrant spot in WBD’s August earnings report.

WBD additionally invested extra closely in HBO Max, notably to replace its expertise and push worldwide enlargement. Below Wiedenfels, the corporate employed extra engineers to enhance HBO Max’s algorithm and search engine and to assist it assist dwell content material, Zaslav stated. After being “caught” at roughly 95 million subscribers for about two years, launching the worldwide streaming platform “paid off,” he added.

The corporate reported earlier in August it had practically 126 million streaming subscribers and was on monitor to satisfy its aim of greater than 150 million by the top of 2026.

Although these divisions will stay with Warner Bros. after the break up, they may owe at the least a few of its latest trajectory to Wiedenfels.

CNN Chairman and CEO Mark Thompson stated in an interview that Wiedenfels is “very a lot dedicated to persevering with the funding in CNN.” He and Wiedenfels have not too long ago been on a tour of the community’s varied bureaus in preparation for the launch of a reimagined CNN streaming platform this fall.

“I tease him in regards to the repute for cost-cutting,” Thompson stated. “If I am being truthful to him, nevertheless, in CNN’s case he is greater than met our ask on investments. In truth, he is requested whether or not we want any extra.”

Wiedenfels stated the corporate can be investing in constructing out CNN’s future streaming and digital merchandise, calling it “a reasonably vital monetary dedication in an business with declining linear secular traits.”

The corporate is on monitor to take a position at the least $100 million within the community to this point, with plans for additional funding subsequent yr.

Though Wiedenfels continues to be very a lot the CFO of Warner Bros. Discovery, he is already began engaged on his subsequent function as CEO.

In July, Wiedenfels stated, he held a workshop with the long run leaders of Discovery International, lots of whom are inner hires. The assembly lasted 5 hours, with one 10-minute break, and the dialogue was solely round what comes after the break up.

“It might have gone on for an additional 5 hours as a result of there’s a lot to debate and a lot pleasure to get began and hammer out all these key questions,” stated Wiedenfels.

In the meantime, on WBD’s latest earnings name, Wiedenfels plugged future methods for Discovery International, together with plans for a streaming service for TNT Sports activities.

One focus after the break up will probably be reinvesting within the firm’s preexisting streaming service, Discovery+, which sat on the sidelines as the main target shifted to HBO Max.

The capital wanted for that and different initiatives will probably be derived from the long run Discovery International enterprise, fastidiously arrange by Wiedenfels and different high executives.

Though Discovery International will tackle a lot of the remaining debt from WBD’s steadiness sheet, which traders count on to face at about $30 billion by the top of the fiscal yr, the networks nonetheless produce sufficient money to make funding attainable.

As well as, Discovery International will retain a 20% stake in Warner Bros., the separated streaming and film studio entity, which Wiedenfels stated will “wash billions of contemporary capital” into Discovery International.

Wiedenfels additionally instructed CNBC he believes Discovery International could have the flexibility to make strategic strikes, together with offers and buying sports activities rights.

“If I have a look at my profession to this point, I’ve at all times had a really broad interpretation of the CFO function. I’ve at all times had sure working or strategic features underneath me,” stated Wiedenfels. “I’ve at all times taken an strategy to look past the numbers and develop a deep understanding of the enterprise and drivers behind it.”

Disclosure: NBCUniversal is the guardian firm of CNBC.