Discovery Communications Names Wonya Lucas as Chief Marketing Officer

Discovery Communications Names Wonya Lucas as Chief Marketing Officer

SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Wonya Y. Lucas has been named Chief Marketing Officer of Discovery Communications. Lucas joins Discovery from The Weather Channel Companies and will be based at the company's global headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Lucas will begin March 24, reporting to COO Mark Hollinger.

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As Chief Marketing Officer, Lucas will provide company-wide brand strategy leadership and coordination across Discovery's global businesses. She will be responsible for strengthening Discovery's world-class brands and leveraging the company's many assets to increase awareness and expand its worldwide viewer base.

"Wonya is a recognized leader in the media industry after successfully overseeing marketing and strategy for major television and internet brands at both The Weather Channel and Turner Broadcasting," said Hollinger. "I am extremely proud to welcome someone with her talent, strategic and operational experience and industry stature as the new driving force behind Discovery's global marketing and branding strategy."

"Discovery Communications has built an impressive portfolio of recognized, trusted and admired brands over the past 23 years," said Lucas. "I look forward to working with the executive and marketing teams to continue to build brand momentum and audience share for all of Discovery's global brands."

Most recently, Lucas served as General Manager and Executive Vice President of The Weather Channel Networks, where she was responsible for corporate strategy and development, strategic marketing for The Weather Channel and weather.com, and operations and programming The Weather Channel, The Weather Channel HD, Weatherscan, The Weather Channel Radio Network, and newspaper syndication. Before joining The Weather Channel in 2002 as Executive Vice President of Marketing, Lucas was with the Turner Broadcasting System where she held several positions, including Senior Vice President of Strategic Marketing for CNN Networks and Vice President of Business Operations and Network Development for TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Turner South. Her other experience includes brand management for The Coca-Cola Company and The Clorox Company.

In 2007, Lucas was named as the "Woman To Watch" by Women in Cable Telecommunications. Previous honors include a listing among the "50 Most Powerful Black Women Leaders in Business" by Black Enterprise magazine a Brand Builders Award at the 2006 Promax & BDA Conference, recognition as a "Women To Watch" in the 2005 Wonder Women of Cable TV Awards, and the Inspiration Award for "Woman of the Year" in the WICT-Atlanta's 2007 Red Letter Awards. Lucas serves on the Board of Directors of the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing and she was the co-chairperson for the 2007 CTAM Summit. She also has served as a board member for WICT, Inc and is a graduate of the Betsy Magness Leadership Institute.

Lucas has served on the board for The Children's Museum of Atlanta and as a member of the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation board. She is also a member of the Women's Forum of Georgia in affiliation with the International Women's Forum. Lucas earned an MBA in finance and marketing from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business and a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications is the world's number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Discovery empowers people to explore their world and satisfy their curiosity through 100-plus worldwide networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery and HD Theater, as well as leading consumer and educational products and services, and a diversified portfolio of digital media services including HowStuffWorks.com. Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Company (NASDAQ:DISCA)(NASDAQ:DISCB), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery's founder and chairman. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.

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Source: Discovery Communications

CONTACT: Michelle Russo of Discovery Communications, +1-240-662-2901,
Michelle_Russo@discovery.com

Web site:

http://www.discoverycommunications.com/

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