Hello Sunshine’s Liz Jenkins Named Chief Business Officer for NBCUniversal Studio Group

Liz Jenkins has been named to the newly created position of Chief Business Officer for NBCUniversal Studio Group.

Jenkins joins the company from Reese Witherspoon’s multimedia company Hello Sunshine, where she most recently served as Chief Operating Officer. The director reports to Donna Langley, chairman and chief content officer of NBCUniversal Studio Group, who announced the hiring on Tuesday.

Langley also shook up her cabinet of lieutenants, elevating some executives while changing the reporting structure of others. Peter Levinsohn, formerly vice chairman and chief distribution officer of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, has been elevated to president of the studio group’s global distribution. Jimmy Horowitz has also moved up the ranks, dropping the “vice” from his title and becoming president of NBCUniversal Business Affairs and Operations.

Jenkins’ hiring and shuffling comes after NBCUniversal’s reorganization this summer. Comcast president Mike Cavanagh expanded Langley’s responsibilities to oversee all content for the company, including for streaming and TV. Mark Lazarus, who oversees NBCUniversal’s TV and streaming operations and NBC News Group chairman Cesar Conde, also took on new responsibilities.

According to the announcement, in her new role as Chief Business Officer, Jenkins will work with Langley’s executive leadership team to develop and implement innovative strategies that capitalize on emerging opportunities and address challenges in the rapidly evolving media landscape. The role will act as the connective tissue within the Studio Group portfolio and will sit at the intersection of strategy and business. Jenkins will drive long-term business planning to guide the macro content strategy for the new creative studio hub.

“Liz has established herself as an industry leader with a deep understanding of the complexities of our business and her unique perspective and diverse experience fuel her drive for innovation,” Langley said in a statement. “She’s a builder; be it brands, individual projects or culture. As the Studio Group continues to evolve and adapt to the new industrial climate, Liz will be an incredible partner to me and the wider NBCUniversal team.”

At Hello Sunshine, which she joined in 2018, Jenkins first served as Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Operating Officer, a position to which she was promoted in 2021. She was responsible for setting up and overseeing finance, business affairs, operations, physical production and music. , as well as facilitating the growth of the company’s content and direct-to-consumer businesses. She led the acquisitions of SKR Productions and home organization/lifestyle brand The Home Edit, as well as the sale of Hello Sunshine to Candle Media in 2021 and subsequent integration efforts.

Prior to that, she was head of strategic businesses for Sony PlayStation and senior vice president of business development and strategy at Media Rights Capital. Jenkins currently serves as Chairman of the Board of GLAAD and sits on the Board of Directors of Baby2Baby, the non-profit that provides essential supplies to children in need across the country.

Jenkins said: “The media space has never been more dynamic, disruptive and quite frankly disrupted. I look forward to putting my experience in the independent space to use in the more interconnected, multi-platform landscape that Donna and her team are building at NBCUniversal Studio Group. I look forward to working together within NBCU to drive value creation across the portfolio.”

As president of global distribution, Levinsohn oversees the international theater distribution group – run by Veronkia Kwan Vandenberg – who will now report to Levinsohn. Levinsohn now has all content distribution, including domestic theatre, international theatre, home entertainment and worldwide television distribution (licensing) within its scope.

Horowitz will now be overseeing all business leads in terms of content.