WarnerMedia Kids & Family Hires for Creative & Programming Roles

Gloria Ponce and Sowon Sawyer have been tapped to fill key positions within the WarnerMedia Kids & Family creative and programming team.

Ponce, who joined the company earlier this year, has been appointed to the new role of senior creative executive. She oversees the creative development of live-action original content for kids ages 6 to 11 and family audiences and currently has more than 15 shows in development for HBO Max and Cartoon Network, with an emphasis on Latinx-focused programming.

Prior to joining WarnerMedia, Ponce managed international originals for youth audiences at Netflix. Previously, she worked as a creative executive in the Nickelodeon Original Movies department.

Sawyer has been appointed VP of program planning. She previously led the scheduling strategy for SundanceTV at AMC Networks. She also worked for 11 years at Nickelodeon in program planning and strategy for TeenNick, NickJr. and NickToons.

Both Ponce and Sawyer will report to Amy Friedman, head of kids’ and family programming, with Sawyer also having to report to Meredith Gertler, executive VP of content strategy and planning for HBO and HBO Max.

Friedman said: “Gloria and Sowon will each be vital to creatively developing and positioning our offerings as we build audiences across HBO Max and Cartoon Network. They each bring exceptional taste and diverse industry experience to the team, and they’ll be invaluable leaders as we deliver inclusive content to kids and families wherever they watch.”

Gertler added: “Adding Sowon’s strategic scheduling insights and programming expertise with kids and family audiences is critical as we continue to build out and align our preschool, kids and family offerings across Cartoon Network and HBO Max.”