Phil Kent was recently chairman and chief executive officer of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (TBS, Inc.) from the beginning of 2003 until the end of 2013. He was responsible for a portfolio of news, entertainment and animation, young adult & kids networks and businesses including CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN.com and HLN; TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies and truTV; Cartoon Network and Adult Swim; and Turner Sports. Globally, Turner Broadcasting operates more than 130 channels in some 30 languages in more than 200 countries.

Kent was named to his current role in February 2003. Earlier, he served as president and chief operating officer of CNN News Group, where he oversaw a strategic reorganization of the news division. His career at TBS, Inc. also includes broad international experience as president of Turner Broadcasting System International (TBSI), the division overseeing Turner’s business activity outside the United States. At the helm of TBSI, Kent led a regionalization strategy for CNN and the Turner entertainment networks around the globe, further strengthening the company’s position in critical international markets. Kent joined Turner Broadcasting in 1993 as president of Turner Home Entertainment, the former division comprised of the company’s home video, new media, licensing & merchandising, international theatrical distribution and book publishing operations.

Previously he spent six years with Creative Artists Agency (CAA) as a packaging agent in that company’s television department. In 1981, he helped launch Blair Entertainment, the television syndication division of John Blair & Co., where he began his career. Kent earned a bachelor of arts degree in economics at Lehigh University. He served on the board of directors of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association; is a past chair of the board of trustees of Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center; past chair of The Advertising Council, and is a member of the Dean’s executive board of UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film & Television. He is a member of the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame.