One of the key leadership figures at the comic/media company DC, Daniel Cherry III, has left the WarnerMedia subsidiary after just 16 months, according to The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab). Cherry, who was hired in September 2020 for the newly-created position of General Manager (a senior VP level role), is reported to be “quitting” on his own volition.
Cherry was hired in September 2020 following a busy year of re-organization at DC which included the departure of long-time co-Publisher Dan DiDio in February, and the promotion of the other co-publisher Jim Lee (who is also DC’s chief creative officer) to the sole publisher a month later.
Cherry’s role at DC was previously described to us as being in charge of the business aspects of DC’s comic publishing (as opposed to the comic book stories itself). Cherry oversaw various DC departments including business affairs, talent services, marketing, sales, brand, and direct-to-consumer. Some of those duties were shared with Anne Depies, DC’s senior VP of business strategy, finance, & administration.
In terms of where Cherry fit on the DC flowchart, he (and Lee) reported directly Warner Bros.’s global brands and experience president Pam Lifford.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Cherry was hired to “future-proof” DC and to increase the company’s global reach.
Previous to DC, Cherry was the chief marketing officer for Activision Blizzard – which we bring up because on Tuesday Microsoft announced plans to acquire Activision for $68.7 billion.
This is a big event for DC business, but what are the biggest events in DC comics? Here are our picks for the most impactful DC events of all time.