Karen Horne, the esteemed leader of Warner Bros. Discovery Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for North America, is bidding farewell to the company amidst a wave of layoffs and significant restructuring following the merger. While executives clarified that Horne’s departure is not directly linked to the broader staff retrenchment, it does signify a reevaluation of the DEI division. Asif Sadiq, the head of DEI, shared the news of Horne’s departure with the team in an email. In September, WBD revamped its DEI team under Sadiq, with Horne, the Senior Vice President for North America, playing a pivotal role. He oversaw three other regions: Europe/Middle East/Africa, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. This decision came after the merged company faced criticism for appointing an all-white, male board of directors and a lack of diversity among its top executives.
Last year, Horne was entrusted with Warner Bros. Discovery’s renowned directors program. Initially, the program was discontinued, but the company swiftly reversed its decision. In October, it was announced that the program, which had been praised for its efforts to include diverse voices in the television industry, would be housed within WBD’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion unit under Horne’s leadership, rather than Warner Bros. Television.
Horne joined WarnerMedia, now Warner Bros. Discovery, in March 2020, bringing with her a wealth of experience from her previous roles at NBC Entertainment and Universal Television Studios as Senior Vice President of Programming Talent Development and Inclusion. The Los Angeles Times was the first to report this news. Below is the announcement memo:
[Insert announcement memo here]
