Variety: Warner Bros. Discovery Adds Tech Investor Anton Levy to Board After Activist Shareholder ‘Pressure’

Story from Variety:

Warner Bros. Discovery announced that it intends to add Anton Levy, former head of technology at private-equity firm General Atlantic, as an independent director to its board.

Levy’s appointment came as the result of “pressure” from Sessa Capital, a hedge fund that has about a 1% stake in Warner Bros. Discovery, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources. Sessa has been pushing Warner Bros. Discovery to add new board members and move more quickly on restructuring the business to potentially spin off or sell its cable networks, according to the report. (Warner Bros. Discovery and Sessa Capital reps did not respond to requests for comment.)

The announcement of Levy joining the board follows Warner Bros. Discovery’s appointments of two independent directors in January: SoFi CEO Anthony Noto and Joey Levin, chairman of Angi and former CEO of Barry Diller’s IAC.

Samuel Di Piazza Jr., chairman of the Warner Bros. Discovery board of directors, said in a statement that he “appreciate[s] the engagement we have had from shareholders, including helpful input from John Petry, managing member of Sessa Capital, as part of that process.”

Piazza said that Levy’s addition “is consistent with the commitment we announced in December [2024] to continue to enhance the board with industry experts with track records of value creation. We look forward to working with Anton as we continue to oversee the execution of Warner Bros. Discovery’s strategy to unlock value for shareholders.”

Levy is currently an advisory director at General Atlantic, after stepping down in January 2025 as the firm’s co-president and chairman of global technology. He has “significant investing experience” and “an exceptional track record of value creation,” Warner Bros. Discovery said, noting that Levy led many of General Atlantic’s biggest investments in leading technology companies, including in Airbnb, Alibaba Group, Crowdstrike, Facebook, Klarna AB, Mercado Libre, Slack, Snapchat, Squarespace and Uber.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said regarding Levy’s appointment to the board, “We continue to move forward with urgency to improve performance and position our businesses for success over the near- and long-term amid the evolving industry landscape. We are confident that Anton will add valuable perspectives as we continue to take steps to drive long-term value for shareholders.”

For his service on the Warner Bros. Discovery board, Levy in 2025 will receive $240,000 in stock retainers and $105,000 in cash retainers, per Warner Bros. Discovery’s current compensation program for non-employee directors, according to an SEC filing Monday from Warner Bros. Discovery.

Levy began his career at General Atlantic in 1998. He received a bachelor’s degree from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Columbia Business School.