ViacomCBS said on Thursday that it has elevated Bruce Gillmer to the role of president of music, music talent, programming & events, effective immediately.
Reporting to Bob Bakish, president and CEO of ViacomCBS, he will be in charge of aligning and optimizing all music-driven initiatives across the company.
“Bruce is a driving force behind many of our most iconic moments in music,” said Bakish. “Music is a thread uniting many of our brands, and I’m confident he will maximize the full power of our combined company’s portfolio to bring ViacomCBS’ global music events and programming to new heights.”
The announcement of the new role for Gillmer comes as the company continues to shuffle executives after the recombination of Viacom and CBS in December.
Gillmer most recently served as head of global music and executive vp, music & talent, programming & events for Viacom International Media Networks. He and his team created and produced music series, specials and initiatives, including MTV Fresh Out Live!; the local versions of Yo! MTV Raps; MTV documentary series The Ride; and MTV Push, a global initiative to spotlight new music talent.
”Additionally, his group continues to connect fans with artists during this unprecedented time, from launching MTV Unplugged at Home globally to the worldwide MTV Prom-athon livestream,” the company said.
In his elevated role, Gillmer will form and chair the ViacomCBS Music Council, a cross-company initiative with representation from all company brands, that will coordinate ViacomCBS’ music programming, talent and events strategy. It will focus on “leveraging our global scale, talent partnerships and production expertise to extend our leadership in this space,” the firm said.
Gillmer will also lead the strategy for and development of music content on ViacomCBS’ growing streaming offerings. Plus, he will continue to oversee music talent, development and programming of music content and tentpole events for ViacomCBS’ Entertainment & Youth brands, which include MTV, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, VH1, Pop TV, Paramount Network and Smithsonian Channel, and ViacomCBS Networks International (VCNI), in partnership with Entertainment & Youth president Chris McCarthy and VCNI president and CEO David Lynn. Among the firm’s key music events are the likes of the MTV VMAs, MTV EMAs and the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
The Music & Events, Celebrity Talent and Creative Music Integration teams across ViacomCBS Entertainment & Youth brands will report into Gillmer along with the MTV International music and talent teams.
In the past, Gillmer was senior vp of music and talent relations for VH1 in the U.S. He began his career in the MTV Music and Talent department in 1987, working on such series and specials as the Headbangers Ball and MTV Spring Break.
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
