• by Melynda Fuller , August 1, 2018

Following the promotion of Gary Knell to CEO of National Geographic Partners in February, the company is letting three of its top executives go as it streamlines editorial operations. 

National Geographic Partners is the division created through a strategic partnership between the National Geographic Society and 21^thCentury Fox Television. Nat Geo's television channels, magazine, digital media and other businesses, such as book publishing and travel, all exist under the Nat Geo Partners umbrella.

Departing Nat Geo Partners are Rachel Webber, executive vice president of digital, Rosa Zeegers, executive vice president of consumer products and experiences, and Laura Nichols, executive vice president and Chief Communications Officer. 

Zeeger and Nichols departed the company yesterday, while Webber will stay on in an advisory role to “identify growth opportunities.”

Webber’s new role will involve investigating opportunities in areas like AR, VR, live experiences and gaming and OTT strategy to deepen the company’s reach and revenue streams. 

The restructuring is intended to create a new path to seamlessly combining print and digital operations at the company. 

Two top-level members of the Nat Geo team will assume new responsibilities. Editor-in-chief Susan Goldberg will now serve as the editorial director for the newly combined print and digital division. David Miller will become general manager for National Geographic Media. Miller was previously general manager of digital.  

Miller and Goldberg will co-lead the new unit together, with Miller focusing on driving member and subscriptions for print and digital platforms and coordinating sponsorships and ad-driven content. Miller will lead the company’s photography business and Nat Geo Creative teams, in addition to its Maps group based in Colorado. 

Courteney Monroe, CEO of National Geographic Global Networks, will continue in her role as the company’s National Geographic Studios comes off a banner year that saw increased ratings and 18 Emmy nominations. Under the new plan, all video formats, including long-form and branded, will combine under Nat Geo Studios. 

In a memo to staff, Knell wrote: “We need to look at our editorial hub as ‘one newsroom’ and work to eliminate artificial divisions between print or digital-only staff. Our editorial staff will thus be aligned across all platforms and in collaboration with Courteney’s team on tentpole series.”

The company will also combine its marketing, communications research data and insights team to be lead by Jill Cress. “Key areas of focus include creating premium marketing to drive engagement and revenue around our priorities — including the Channel, magazine and membership.”

The full memo can be found at Variety.