Discovery Hires Viacom's McGrath as SVP Data and Analytics

Mass media and entertainment company Discovery Communications has appointed former Viacom exec Christopher McGrath as Senior Vice President, Data and Analytics. He will be based in New York.

Discovery Communication's portfolio of nonfiction, lifestyle, sports and kids content brands, including Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and the Oprah Winfrey Network in the US, is viewed in more than 200 countries and territories, while its programming reaches three billion cumulative viewers. McGrath (pictured) joins from media conglomerate Viacom, where he served as SVP, Data Strategy and Consumer Intelligence, overseeing the data strategy, data science, and analytic functions. Earlier, he held various eCommerce and analyst roles at Starwood Hotels, Bertelsmann, and International Creative Management.

In his new role, McGrath will be responsible for the firm's global data vision, strategy and execution. In partnership with senior business leaders across Discovery's digital, sports, ad sales, marketing and direct-to-consumer initiatives, he will oversee a global group tasked with exploring, designing and delivering solutions that monetize the company's insights and proprietary data assets in new ways.

McGrath will report to CTO John Honeycutt, who comments: 'Discovery is laser-focused on utilizing new technologies to enhance both our longstanding and recent investments and to grow our global direct-to-consumer and digital businesses. Chris' expertise and strategic ability to implement solution-oriented technology across our business will allow us to scale and widen our digital footprint for deeper consumer engagement.'

Web site: www.discoverycommunications.com .