Discovery Communications' Planet Green Expands Content Team
November 14, 2007
(Silver Spring, Md.) Discovery Communications announced three executive appointments today to Planet Green, the company's global, multiplatform initiative featuring the first-ever 24-hour television network dedicated solely to green lifestyle programming. Howard Lee has been named vice president, East Coast development and production; Timothy Kuryak has been appointed vice president, West Coast development and production; and Claire Alexander has been named vice president of operations and interactive media. The announcement was made by Eileen O'Neill, president and general manager, Planet Green to whom all three will report.
"Planet Green is the most extensive, long-term commitment by any media company in the green space, an effort that requires a team of executives with vision, creativity and a strong entrepreneurial approach to our business," said O'Neill. "Howard, Timothy and Claire bring the right balance of expertise and passion to Planet Green's multiple content platforms."
Working from their respective locations, Lee and Kuryak will oversee a robust development slate for Planet Green's linear network spanning subjects and categories from the hottest trends in modern green design to the latest in eco transportation and architecture to new takes on organic cuisine. Their responsibilities include developing relationships with a range of independent producers and production companies to fuel a diverse offering of entertaining green lifestyle content. Lee and Kuryak are also charged with securing and building Planet Green's lineup of green experts, credible personalities and celebrity talent.
As vice president of operations and interactive media, Claire Alexander oversees the execution of all network functions and is responsible for business development, non-profit partnerships, and the strategy and execution of Planet Green's digital media extensions. Alexander was a principal architect of the TreeHugger.com acquisition, one of the most successful eco-lifestyle websites available today.
Most recently, Lee served as vice president, development for the Travel Channel, leading the inception of numerous hit series, including the Emmy award-winning Great Hotels, the Emmy-award-winning Passport To Europe With Samantha Brown and the original strand of "World's Best." Lee also spearheaded the development of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern and Best Places to Find Cash and Treasure. Prior to joining Discovery Communications in 1998, Lee was senior supervising producer for PBS's WGBH/WQED co-production, "Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego?" which won industry accolades in the form of both Emmy and Peabody awards. Lee received his B.A. with honors from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for Film and Television.
Kuryak joins Discovery from FOX WORLD, where he was vice president, Fox World Productions in Los Angeles. In this role, he served as a worldwide executive producer for all forms of non-fiction programming, overseeing the international rollout, adaptation and production of such hits as Beauty and the Geek, The Simple Life, and Joe Millionaire. Previously, Kuryak was the head of development and programming for ReelzChannel, where he managed the development of a $20 million slate of original programming for the start-up network. Kuryak earned a B.A. in political science and history from Brown University.
Alexander most recently served as vice president, digital strategy and implementation in the Office of the Founder and Chairman. In that role, she drove the creation of Discovery's social media strategy and developed company-wide new media governance procedures. She joined Discovery as a member of the Corporate Strategy and Business Development team in 2004. Alexander graduated from Harvard University, and holds an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business.
Both Lee and Alexander are based at Discovery's world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. Kuryak will be based at Discovery's offices in Los Angeles.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications is the number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Discovery's 100-plus worldwide networks are led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, The Science Channel, Discovery Health and HD Theater, with digital media properties including HowStuffWorks.com. Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Co. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery's founder and chairman. For more information please visit www.discoverycommunications.com/.