HBO/HBO Max Head of Communications Karen Jones Leaves After 23 Years

HBO/HBO Max exec vp and head of communications Karen Jones is exiting the corporate after 23 years, she introduced in a memo to staffers on Thursday. Jones has been on this function since 2019, serving to navigate HBO’s communications via possession modifications, the launch of HBO Max (which grew to become a part of her purview in 2020) and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This received’t come as a shock to a few of you, as I’ve spoken candidly about my want to have a subsequent chapter, to chase new desires and begin paying it ahead with extra intention,” Jones stated in a notice shared along with her HBO colleagues. “Slowly, after which , it was precisely the suitable time. 

“It has been an unbelievable trip, and I’m tremendously grateful for all of the adventures and to these with whom I’ve shared this journey. It’s the shoulder-to-the-wheel mindset that can all the time outline us,” she added. “I ship a full-throated cheer to the hardest-working media relations workforce. It has been my distinct privilege, and I’ve little question that you’ll proceed to convey impressed, dauntless ardour to the work that you simply do on daily basis.”

Jones labored carefully in her function with HBO/HBO Max content material chairman/CEO Casey Bloys, who in an announcement lauded the exec for being “essentially the most considerate and insightful voice within the room. Over the previous a number of years, she performed a pivotal function in guiding us in the suitable route via a interval of transformation. She has been equally deft in main the dynamic, gifted workforce rolling out a few of our most profitable, award-winning applications. We’re all unhappy she has determined to depart however have nice respect for her want to pursue a brand new path. All of us want her the most effective.”

 As exec VP and head of communications, Jones oversaw publicity technique for HBO and HBO Max’s slate, together with groups in Los Angeles and New York. Earlier than taking her present function in 2019 , Jones had served as senior VP of media relations at HBO, dealing with campaigns for programming together with “Westworld,” “Lovecraft Nation,” “Perry Mason,” “Silicon Valley,” “Chernobyl,” “Olive Kitteridge,” “The Pacific,” “The Regular Coronary heart,” “Sport Change” and extra.

Jones first joined HBO in 1999. She’s additionally an govt committee member for the Tv Academy’s public relations peer group, and has additionally served as a mentor for the Hollywood Radio & Tv Society and the WICT Community Southern California chapter. She has additionally been a board member for the Stand Tall Worldwide nonprofit.

Earlier than HBO, Jones served as a characteristic movie unit publicist on releases comparable to “Beloved,” “As Good As It Will get,” “Amistad,” “Mars Assaults!,” “Geronimo: An American Legend,” “Set It Off,” “Satan in a Blue Costume,” “Clockers” and “Menace II Society.”