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CRAIG HUNEGS

Board Member

Craig Hunegs led two of the world’s largest television studios, Disney Television Studios and Warner Bros. Television Group. The studios had consistent global creative and commercial success, producing iconic, award winning shows such as Friends, ER, The West Wing, The Big Bang Theory, Gossip Girl, The Bachelor, The Voice, Modern Family, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Dopesick, The Dropout and hundreds of others. The businesses earned billions of dollars in annual revenues and consistently achieved double digit profit margins.

Hunegs led the studios during steady times and periods of rapid change. In recent years, his teams accomplished numerous, successful strategic shifts, all the while consistently growing the scope and scale of their businesses.  Television production technology evolved from traditional film to digital media and virtual production methods. Distribution channels changed from broadcast and cable networks to streaming services. The competitive landscape was upended with the emergence of significant new competitors ranging from Netflix and Amazon to YouTube and TikTok. Along the way audience tastes and viewing habits evolved away from watching long seasons of ongoing procedural series to shorter runs of more complex narratives and characters and to short form audience generated entertainment.

Hunegs joined Disney as it completed it’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. He led the integration of the sizable television studios of each company into one cohesive group. During this integration, he also led the studios through a period of rapid expansion, doubling the number of television series produced by the combined studios.

At Disney, Hunegs also led his team through a considerable change in workplace and creative culture. Hiring practices changed to increase executive and staff diversity. More writers, directors and actors of color joined the talent roster, amplifying previously marginalized voices and stories. The makeup of production crews and vendors was similarly and deliberately changed. 

During Hunegs’ tenure at Warner Bros., the television operations grew rapidly, increasing production in it’s core business of scripted series and expanding into reality television and international local production, acquiring production companies in 14 countries. 

At Warner Bros., Hunegs also oversaw, as a hands-on board member, The CW Television Network. During this time, Warner Bros invested heavily in The CW and a low margin network transformed to a home for highly lucrative series based on valuable, well-known IP.

At Warner Bros., Hunegs also founded Warner Bros. Digital Networks and led the pioneering division in building and operating the company’s first streaming services – the beloved classic film streamer FilmStruck, the subscription tv and comic book service DC Universe, the K-Drama service DramaFever and for kids the streaming version of Cartoon Network. These services ultimately evolved to become the single Warner streaming service now called Max. 

Hunegs has served on the Boards of a number of organizations, Barnard College at Columbia University, The Alliance for Children’s Rights, The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation and the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. 

Hunegs currently works as an Operating Partner at the private equity firm ZMC.