Warner Bros. Discovery has fired top diversity executive Karen Horn, a company representative confirmed to TheWrap on Friday.
Horn is the latest senior executive fired from the studio as it undergoes a massive restructuring under CEO David Zaslav, after longtime TCM executives Anne Wilson, Dexter Feder and Genevieve McGillicuddy were fired on June 20.
In a worrying trend, several DEI executives have also been ousted by other studios in recent weeks, including Netflix’s Verna Myers and Disney’s Latondra Newton.
Horn’s departure was announced internally on Wednesday A report from the LA Times Published on Friday. She was SVP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in North America after joining the company in March 2020.
The company’s DEI program will still be led by Discovery’s Chief Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Asif Sadiq. In a memo to employees obtained by TheWrap, he wrote that Horn’s departure was part of a reorganization and a “new approach” to the DEI initiative.
Sadiq wrote that the company is shifting to “designated leads who are tasked with only employee-related initiatives in each region” in contrast to Horn’s “broad DE&I portfolio beyond employee-related initiatives.”
He commended her work and announced that the company would consider “internal and external candidates” to fill the vacant position.
“As you know, Karen is a talented executive committed to our shared goals of creating an even more inclusive company and an accessible and equitable industry. “I thank Karen for the critical role she has played in establishing a strong foundation by integrating teams and programs from her former companies and wish her all the best,” he wrote.
They also announced that they are looking for a new Group Vice President and that a position of Director in Europe, Middle East and Africa is still open.
“Importantly, these changes do not alter our plans or our commitment to pipeline programs and content-driven initiatives – these are fundamental pillars of our DE&I strategy and will continue to be areas of investment and focus. Grace Moss and Yvette Urbina will continue to report directly to me, working closely with the regional teams,” she concluded.
