Following the abrupt departure of Daniel Cherry III, longtime DC exec Anne Leung DePies has been named Senior Vice President and General Manager of DC. Jim Lee remains as COO and Publisher at DC, and the two will work together on business and editorial matters, including digital and international expansion. 

DePies has been at DC since 2011 in various executive roles, suggesting some continuity as DC and Warner await the changes brought on by their acquisition by Discovery. She’ll report to Pam Lifford, President WarnerMedia Global Brands and Experiences.

UPDATE: I’m told this move was greeted with enthusiasm within DC, and editors are already tweeting about DePies in glowing terms. In fact, according to one tweet, people were standing up and cheering the news at DC.

You can read the rest of the story in the PR below, but at least it mentions the direct market. 

DePies will be responsible for the operations, revenue, legal, marketing, brand management, and strategic planning of the DC business, with a special focus on driving DC’s international and digital expansion. She will partner with Jim Lee, DC’s Chief Creative Officer and Publisher on creative, talent, and editorial decisions to support and drive DC’s aggressive story, character, and digital plans along with continuing DC’s commitment to the direct market comic book retailers.

“Anne’s deep knowledge and appreciation of the DC business, legacy and people will be invaluable in this new leadership role,” said Pam Lifford, President WarnerMedia Global Brands and Experiences. “She understands our fans, characters and stories, and along with Jim, will passionately build our DC publishing business to even greater heights,” Lifford added.

“I’ve worked with Anne for over a decade and what impresses me is that she gets the importance of story,” said Jim Lee, DC Chief Creative Officer and Publisher. “She understands it is our foundation, and she has literally woven it into our business plan which speaks volumes as to the future she envisions for DC. I’m super excited for this partnership and what is to come next.”

Anne DePies said: “It is incredibly humbling to step into this role at a place I’ve been for a while now. I feel like I partially grew up at DC, and I’ve seen how important we are to our fans. To get the chance to lead our company to do even more for them is a dream come true.”

DePies has been with DC since 2011 and was most recently Senior Vice President, Global Brands and Franchises where, as part of the DC leadership team, she developed a new strategic and operating focus on value creation by focusing the unit on franchises. She helped align the company’s business functions and team structure with today’s marketplace realities, and worked across publishing, editorial, sales and marketing and key support functions resulting in a record revenue year in 2021. Prior to DC, DePies worked on acquisitions across Warner Bros. theatrical, television, and video games units.

DePies started her career in 1999 at Arthur Andersen consulting and holds her degrees in International Economics and Accounting from UCLA. She completed her MBA there in 2005. 

 

 

1 COMMENT

Comments are closed.