Ad agency and digital media veteran David Kenny has joined The Weather Channel Companies as Chairman and CEO. The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) is a venture owned by Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, and NBC Universal.
“I was attracted to The Weather Channel because weather is fascinating,” said Kenny. “Accurate, timely forecasting is an everyday necessity for people and businesses everywhere. The Weather Channel has ubiquitous reach across our TV, digital and mobile platforms, and that’s what makes us so unique. Our programming and content continues to evolve in many interesting ways, and that means we’re in a great position to work closely with our affiliates, advertisers, and partners. I am excited to join a team of talented meteorologists, management leaders and dedicated employees as we collaborate to grow and expand across our various platforms globally.”
The Bain/Blackstone/NBCU consortium issued this statement: “David brings a strong leadership background having served as chief executive at global companies across different aspects of the media industry. This experience gives him a deep understanding of the TV and digital business, and he has the leadership experience and vision to drive global initiatives across all platforms. The Weather Channel Companies business is strong and on the right track, and with David leading a strong team, we are well positioned to seize the many good opportunities that lie ahead.”
Kenny comes to TWCC after serving as president of Akamai, the leading cloud platform designed to help enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences to mobile and fixed internet users. Previously, he co-founded and served as managing partner of VivaKi, the combined worldwide media and digital arm of Publicis Groupe, and he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Digitas Inc., a top global integrated brand agency. Kenny currently serves as member of the Board of Directors of Yahoo Inc., and a director of Teach for America, a nonprofit that enlists recent graduates to teach and to effect change in under-resourced and low-income communities.
The Weather Channel properties are described as the most popular source of weather news and information, reaching 163 million people – and 110 million of those people access content through multiple platforms. The Weather Channel provides weather information online to 62 million unique users each month and 11 million per day. It also reaches 33 million monthly unique users through its mobile platform and 94 million monthly cable viewers.
