Discovery Names Perrette President of International Unit

Discovery Communications named JB Perrette as president of Discovery Networks International.

Perrette, Discovery’s chief digital officer, succeeds Mark Hollinger, a 23-year Discovery veteran, who announced his resignation in September. Sean Atkins will serve as acting chief digital offier while the company conducts a search of internal and external candidates.

“JB is one of the smartest and most versatile executives I have worked with in the media business. Since his time at NBC as a leader in business development, distribution and digital to all the success and value he has built at Discovery, JB has it all—strong strategic vision, operational expertise and exceptional team-building skills,” David Zaslav, Discovery CEO, and previously an NBC exec, said in a statement. “This is a demanding role like no other, which I believe requires a corporate executive with a broad background to oversee all aspects of the business across 220 countries. Having spent half his career internationally, and with a unique mix of distribution, digital, strategy and business development experience, JB is the perfect fit to lead Discovery's international operations.”

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.