Johnita P. Due is Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Officer for Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN, Turner Sports, Bleacher Report and Warner Bros. Discovery. Due, who is based in Atlanta and joined CNN as a media lawyer in 2003, was appointed to the newly created role in 2019 by Jeff Zucker, Chairman, Warner Bros. Discovery & President, CNN Worldwide.
As a member of the executive team reporting directly to Zucker, Due is responsible for ensuring that diversity, equity, and inclusion remain business-critical priorities. Highly regarded by employees and management alike for her inspirational and engaging leadership and editorial insights, Due helps drive the company’s efforts to improve representation and development of diverse voices on-air and behind-the-scenes, as well as produce content that resonates with all audiences and makes a difference in society. She is also very committed to cultivating a culture of employee engagement and connectivity, creating meaningful opportunities for employees to share experiences relating to their identities with each other.
Previously, Due served as CNN’s chief diversity advisor from 2005-2013 and was co-chair of the business resource group Black Professionals@Turner from 2017-2019. As co-chair of Black Professionals@Turner, Due helped shape the organization’s mission as “Defining Moments: Building Resilience, Driving Excellence and Moving Forward During Times of Change.” Under her leadership, BlackProfessionals@Turner developed several workforce, marketplace and community programs that strengthened employee engagement, provided professional development opportunities, showcased on-air and off-air talent, and created avenues for employees to provide insights on content, fan engagement, and potential new revenue streams during times of significant corporate and industry changes. Due also chaired a task force on African-American retention and advancement on behalf of the organization.
Due earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges and a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Sussex in England by studying race relations and organizational culture under a Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship. She earned her law degree from Cornell Law School, specializing in international legal affairs. She is a 2017 graduate of the NAMIC Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business. As a law student, Due was an NAACP Legal Defense Fund Earl Warren Scholar and intern and she also interned at the United Nations Centre for Human Rights.
Link to Johnita Due’s full bio: https://www.cnn.com/profiles/johnita-p-due