WBD unveils Global Experiences Division to Expand Fan-Facing Ventures

Bruce Campbell, Chief Revenue and Strategy Officer at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), unveiled a new global structure that consolidates the company’s worldwide studio tours, retail locations, touring exhibitions, and other location-based experiences into a unified division. The newly formed Warner Bros. Discovery Global Experiences will focus on expanding fan-facing experiences and exploring new business opportunities, leveraging the company’s intellectual properties through partnerships like those with Universal Destinations & Experiences and Miral, alongside its owned operations such as the Warner Bros. Studio Tours in London, Hollywood, and Tokyo.

"WBD has an incredible mix of location-based experiences for fans around the world, from theme parks and tours to exhibits, retail, and more," said Campbell. "Bringing these two teams together under one roof gives us an opportunity to leverage and coordinate the talent and resources across all of our experiential businesses to better delight our consumers through offering even more truly authentic and engaging in-person experiences and events in every market."

The new WBD Global Experiences division merges the company's Global Themed Entertainment licensing group and the Studio Tours & Retail division. The unified team will now work on global strategies to provide partners with a balanced mix of licensed and owned models. This move positions WBD to expand its footprint in location-based entertainment by utilizing its iconic franchises like Harry Potter, DC, Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Game of Thrones, FRIENDS, and Discovery.

Simon Robinson, Chief Operating Officer of WBD Studios, will now also lead WBD Global Experiences. He will report to Bruce Campbell for the Experiences division and continue reporting to WBD’s CFO Gunnar Wiendenfels for his studio and content operations roles.

Robinson has appointed two experienced leaders to support this new division:
- Peter van Roden, Executive Vice President of Global Themed Entertainment, will continue managing the licensed location-based entertainment and theme park businesses, including partnerships with Universal Destinations & Experiences for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Miral for Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi, and other exhibitions.
- Sarah Roots, Executive Vice President of Worldwide Studio Tours & Retail, will maintain her role overseeing WBD’s owned and operated experiences, including Warner Bros. Studio Tour – The Making of Harry Potter, Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, and various Harry Potter retail stores in London, Tokyo, and Burbank.

Commenting on the leadership appointments, Robinson stated, "Peter and Sarah are experts in curating and executing global location-based experiences at the very highest caliber. Our teams have an obsession for detail that we bring to each project and together, we will be able to bring partners – and fans – even more of what they’ve come to expect from a Warner Bros. experience."

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