Biography of Phil Kent

Philip I. Kent is chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Named to his post in February 2003, his responsibilities include corporate oversight of the TBS, Inc. domestic and international entertainment, animation and news networks and businesses, including TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and Court TV; Cartoon Network, Adult Swim and Boomerang; GameTap; and CNN Worldwide, which includes CNN/U.S., CNN Headline News, CNN International and CNN.com. Kent has overall responsibility for all news and entertainment advertising and distribution, both domestically and internationally, as well as for all corporate administrative functions, Turner Sports, the Atlanta Braves and Turner Field.

From August 2000 to August 2001, Kent served as president and chief operating officer of CNN News Group, where he oversaw a strategic reorganization of the news division, a radical redesign of CNN Headline News and high-profile hires including Lou Dobbs and Paula Zahn.
Kent’s career at TBS, Inc. includes broad international experience as president of Turner Broadcasting System International, the division charged with overseeing Turner’s wide-ranging business activity in Asia, Europe and Latin America, including all sales, distribution, business development, joint partnerships and business alliances outside of the United States. At the helm of TBSI, Kent led a regionalization strategy that introduced local-language versions of CNN and the Turner entertainment networks around the globe, further strengthening the company’s position in critical international markets.

Earlier, Kent was president of Turner Home Entertainment, the former TBS, Inc. division comprised of the company’s home video, new media, licensing & merchandising, feature distribution and book publishing operations. Kent joined Turner in March 1993, after spending six years with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as a packaging agent in that company’s television department. In 1981, he was one of a two-person team that launched Blair Entertainment, the television syndication division of John Blair & Co., where he began his career in 1975.

Kent earned a bachelor of arts degree at Lehigh University. He serves on the boards of directors of the Ad Council, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Braves; on the board of trustees of the Woodruff Arts Center; and on the Dean’s executive board of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film & Television.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and the leading provider of programming for the basic cable industry.