Netflix Queues Up Warner Bros.'s Bennett As CMO

Netflix on Monday said it has hired Kelly Bennett, formerly head of interactive marketing for Warner Bros. Pictures, as chief marketing officer.

Bennett reports to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. He takes over for Leslie Kilgore, who left Netflix in January 2012 after the company's drastic change to pricing plans last year that led to a spate of customer cancellations.

Bennett, a nine-year veteran of Warner Bros., also ran digital marketing for the studio in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and worked in promotion and business development for the company. Prior to Warner Bros., he has held executive positions at Dow Jones International, Ignition Media and online marketing agency Cimex Media, all based in London.

"Kelly has been a pioneer in developing incredible digital campaigns for some of the biggest box office hits in recent years," Hastings said. "We are delighted Kelly is bringing creative and marketing expertise to Netflix as our streaming business becomes increasingly global and our focus intensifies on commissioning high-quality original programming for our more than 26 million members."

Bennett, a native of Canada, has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia.

Netflix is scheduled to report second-quarter earnings on Tuesday.