Warner Bros. Discovery Board Member Li Haslett Chen To Step Down

More change is afoot for the board of directors of Warner Bros. Discovery, as Li Haslett Chen has announced her plan to resign her board seat on January 31.

A brief SEC filing Monday revealed the move by Chen, who is founder and CEO of tech platform Howl. She had been one of the original board members designated in 2022 as WarnerMedia was getting set to close its $43 billion merger with Discovery.

The filing noted that Chen’s term was scheduled to expire at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in 2025. It also said her resignation “was not the result of any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to the company’s operation, policies or practices.”

In a press release, Chen said she was exiting the board in order to “dedicate my full attention” to Howl, which is entering “a major phase of growth in 2025.” Board Chair Samuel A. Di Piazza, Jr. thanked Chen “for her service and considerable contributions” to the company. Her “unique insights and deep
technology expertise that have been valuable as we have overseen management’s strategic progress,” he added.

Speaking of strategic progress, the board may be evaluating some significant options in the coming months. Earlier in December, the company restructured, dividing its linear networks from its studio and streaming operations, in a step toward a potential transaction in line with NBCUniversal’s planned spinoff of linear cable networks. With more than two dozen networks continuing to generate cash flow but also contending with ongoing cord cutting and advertiser pullbacks, WBD has been weighing its options.

Chen’s exit is the latest development pertaining to WBD’s board in recent months. Last April, the company announced that Steven A. Miron and Steven O. Newhouse had resigned as directors. They departed the board after the U.S. Department of Justice informed them it was investigating whether their service violated Section 8 of the Clayton Antitrust Act. The law limits directors from sitting on boards of companies whose business interests overlap, and the DOJ had been looking at commonalities between the boards of WBD and Charter Communications.

Miron was also one of the defendants in a shareholder lawsuit filed over the WBD merger, alleging that it favored insiders at the expense of everyday investors. The suit resulted in a $125 million settlement to be paid by WBD, the company disclosed last July.

WBD last fall appointed attorney Daniel E. Sanchez, the nephew of major shareholder and independent director John Malone, to the board as of Oct. 1. The board had decided at a recent meeting to expand to 12 directors. Chen’s departure will leave 11 directors.

Prior to creating Howl, which specializes in social media monetization, Chen founded and led AI firm Narrativ.

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