Warner Bros. Discovery chief people and culture officer Adria Alpert Romm is stepping down from her role at the end of June. Romm is retiring after more than four decades in key human resources roles at NBCUniversal, Discovery and WBD.
Romm played a key role in building Discovery from a handful of domestic cable networks into a global media juggernaut, including the acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive in 2018 and the acquisition and integration of AT&T’s WarnerMedia in 2022.
During her tenure at both Discovery and WBD, Romm implemented several employee development and wellness initiatives, including the establishment and expansion of wellness centers and on-site daycare facilities globally, as well as DEI development programs. She also is credited with launching TLC’s Say Yes to the Prom initiative, which was created as single employee giveback event in 2012 that has grown into a nationwide tour benefiting thousands of deserving high school students across the country annually.
“I have been incredibly fortunate to have Adria by my side for more than 30 years as one of my closest advisors,” WBD CEO David Zaslav said in a statement. “A strong people culture is critical to any successful company and Adria has fought every day to put employees first, and, through her years of stellar leadership and innovation, she has ensured that our company has always been the gold standard in talent acquisition as well as employee development and wellness – she is the absolute best in the business.”
Romm will be succeeded by WPP’s global chief people officer Jennifer Remling, who will join the company in January.
Remling has over 20 years of human resources, talent acquisition and development experience. Prior to serving at WPP, she held the same role at GroupM, WPP’s media investment group. Before that, Remling was global chief talent officer at Essence, whose workforce grew by 40% during her tenure as it opened 18 new offices worldwide. She also previously spent nearly four years as the global senior vice president of talent at R/GA and held senior roles at WPP’s AKQA as well as 360i and Sapient.
“While Jennifer has big shoes to fill, she is exceptionally talented and highly respected in her own right, having led large-scale HR teams in support of complex global organizations with tens of thousands of employees,” Zaslav added. “The lasting impact she’s made at WPP underscores her strong support of employee development and DEI initiatives as well as her clear commitment to creating a positive and nurturing workplace environment. We couldn’t be more excited to have her join our leadership team.”
