Warnermedia Kids & Family recently appointed Gloria Ponce and Sowon Sawyer to its creative and programming team. Ponce, who recently joined the company earlier this year, will serve as Senior Creative Executive, while Sawyer contributes as Vice President of Program Planning. “Gloria and Sowon will each be vital to creatively developing and positioning our offerings as we build audiences across HBO Max and Cartoon Network,” said Amy Friedman, Head of Kids & Family Programming, Warner Bros. “They each bring exceptional taste and diverse industry experience to the team, and they’ll be invaluable leaders as we deliver inclusive content to kids and families wherever they watch.”
Ponce and Sawyer will work on strenghtening the company’s animation and live-action slate, developing creative content and strategy planning to support its recently launched programming sections, Cartoonito and ACME Night, along with other programming efforts made on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. Both executives will report to Head of Kids & Family Programming, Amy Friedman, with Sawyer also reporting Meredith Gertler, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy & Planning, HBO and HBO Max.
As Senior Creative Executive for WarnerMedia Kids & Family Originals, Ponce oversees the creative development of live-action original content across ages 6-11 and family audiences. She currently has more than 15 shows in development for HBO Max and Cartoon Network, with an emphasis on Latinx-focused programming. Before joining WarnerMedia, Ponce spent three years at Netflix managing international originals for youth audiences. Previously, she worked as a creative executive in the Nickelodeon Original Movies department and later transitioned to the Latino-focused digital content studio mitú, where she was instrumental in crafting the company’s brand identity and scripted content strategy.
Friedman’s executive team at Warner also includes Kim Howitt, Senior Creative Executive, who oversees the creative development of third-party animation, co-production, and live-action across preschool, kids, and family; Adina Pitt, whose expanded role includes leading kids & family acquisitions, co-productions, and content partnerships across both linear and streaming in the U.S., and on linear in LatAm; and Joanna Rosenthal, as Creative Executive, WarnerMedia Kids & Family.
Prior to her new role as Vice President of Program Planning at WarnerMedia, Sawyer led the Scheduling Strategy for SundanceTV at AMC Networks where she was responsible for promoting audience growth and retention for SundanceTV. Previously, Sowon worked for 11 years at Nickelodeon in program planning and strategy for TeenNick, NickJr., and NickToons, where she played a major role in the growth of NickToons brand from eight million to nearly 70 million homes, and also contributed to other major development iniatives. “Adding Sowon’s strategic scheduling insights and programming expertise with kids and family audiences is critical as we continue to build out and align our preschool, kids, and family offerings across Cartoon Network and HBO Max,” Meredith Gertler, Executive Vice President, Content Strategy & Planning, HBO and HBO Max, said.