Longtime TV executive Pearlena Igbokwe will take over leadership of NBCUniversal’s global television studio business from Bonnie Hammer in the latest shake-up at the studio, it was reported Thursday.
The promotion will make her one of the most senior Black women in the entertainment business, as the TV industry veteran Hammer moves into the role of vice chairman, NBCUniversal said, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Igbokwe takes over the company’s growing global television studio business, including Universal Television, Universal Content Productions (UCP) and NBCUniversal International Studios and will report directly to NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell.
“She has a long track record of success and is the ideal person to take the helm of the studio group,” said Hammer, who will become a corporate advisor reporting to Shell.
The moves are part of a wider reorganization of NBCUniversal’s entertainment group as it competes with a host of new and established TV streaming services, The Times reported. The company under Shell has been looking to streamline operations to respond to the intensely competitive realities of the new streaming era.
“Our television studios are key growth engines for the company, and Pearlena is ideally suited to lead them,” Shell said in a statement. “She has extraordinary taste and is well-respected within NBC.”