Babara Zaneri, chief program acquisitions officer for Paramount Global‘s Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios, is leaving after 25 years at Paramount and its predecessor companies. She’ll be replaced in the role by Virginia Lazalde-McPherson, previously the division’s EVP and head of strategy and business operations.
The moves were announced in a memo Monday to staff from Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global co-CEO and president/CEO of Showtime and MTV Entertainment Studios. Zaneri will stay on “for a few weeks to help ensure a smooth transition,” he wrote.
Zaneri “has decided to take on a new and deeply meaningful chapter in her life” by focusing full-time on the nonprofit she founded, the Gold Star Services Network, McCarthy wrote in the memo. GSSN “honors Gold Star Families who have lost a loved one due to U.S. military service” and “provides much-needed support to these families by partnering with local organizations to promote awareness and provide events designed to recognize the heroic legacy of their loved ones.”
According to McCarthy, Zaneri built the industry’s first centralized content acquisitions group. He credited her with landing some of Paramount’s “most iconic acquisitions,” such as “Friends,” “The Office,” “Seinfeld,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Family Guy” and “Two and a Half Men.” More recently, she helped close “massive new deals” for “Tracker,” “FBI” and “Ghosts,” according to McCarthy.
“But beyond the deals and the accolades, what truly stands out is the impact Barb has had on the people around her,” McCarthy wrote. “In addition to being a legendary dealmaker, she is a generous mentor, a fierce advocate for others, and a dear friend. Her influence has shaped the way we think, collaborate, and lead — and her impact has resonated deeply within the company.”
Lazalde-McPherson, who joined Showtime in 2019, will take over as head of program acquisitions job. McCarthy said the exec “has been my go-to partner across all aspects of Showtime’s content and business strategy, driving creative dealmaking with a can-do attitude that inspires and energizes others.”
At Paramount, Lazalde-McPherson “helped steer the successful integration of Showtime into Paramount+,” according to McCarthy. She also has been “a key creative and strategic force” behind Showtime originals including “Yellowjackets,” “The Chi” and “Dexter: Original Sin,” and she also played a leading role in bringing back Michael C. Hall for “Dexter: Resurrection,” McCarthy wrote.
Prior to Paramount, Lazalde-McPherson served for three years as head of business affairs for YouTube Originals. Before that she was SVP of business affairs for Turner’s TruTV Viacom logo and previously spent more than 13 years at MTV Networks (most recently as SVP, deputy general counsel, business and legal affairs and head of music strategy).
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