Chris Spadaccini is leaving as chief marketing officer for WarnerMedia Entertainment. He becomes the latest executive to depart the company amid a massive overhaul under CEO Jason Kilar.
Spadaccini, a longtime HBO veteran, spent 21 years with the company and most recently led campaigns for Emmy winners “Watchmen” and “Succession,” as well as HBO Max. Spadaccini was named CMO of WarnerMedia Entertainment last year, but the division was dissolved during the restructuring, which saw the departures of Bob Greenblatt and Kevin Reilly. As such, Spadacinni’s duties will be divvied up within the company.
“My 21 years at HBO have been nothing short of an extraordinary experience,” Spadaccini said. “It has been an honor and a privilege to lead a marketing team that consistently sets the standard for excellence across the industry. I am filled with enormous gratitude for the opportunity to have supported the vision of some of the world’s greatest storytellers and to have shaped the image of the HBO brand, which continues to be the gold standard in television.”
Deadline first reported the news.
“One of the first shows Chris and I worked on together was ‘Flight of the Conchords.’ That was 15 years ago and I have been in awe of his endless creativity ever since. ‘The Sopranos,’ ‘Veep,’ ‘Game of Thrones’ as well as this year’s big Emmy winner ‘Watchmen’ is just a short list of his and his team’s iconic campaigns,” said Casey Bloys, head of programming for HBO. “He elevated the HBO brand as the leader of marketing and I look forward to seeing what he does next.”
Kilar’s restructuring over the summer breaks down the traditional walls of the studio, television and premium cable divisions and brings all content creation into one operation, while at the same time creating a separate focus on HBO Max. The move puts HBO Max at the forefront of WarnerMedia’s future, while at the same time, brings efficiencies to the rest of content creation, including blockbuster movie franchises.