Stephanie McMahon announced back on May 19 that she would be taking a leave of absence from her position as Chief Brand Officer of WWE, writing at the time, “As of tomorrow, I am taking a leave of absence from the majority of my responsibilities at WWE. WWE is a lifelong legacy for me and I look forward to returning to the company that I love after taking this time to focus on my family.” Since then a number of reports regarding McMahon’s decision have dropped, with the latest coming from Business Insider over the weekend.
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The report noted that McMahon’s break was “executed” by Vince McMahon, then added via a source that while WWE had the potential to generate “hundreds of millions of dollars” via sponsorships and marketing, the results weren’t coming to fruition under Stephanie’s leadership. The source noted (h/t PWInsider), “We weren’t seeing that growth. When someone is moved out of a company, it’s usually the result of something not working. We took stronger control of that a few months ago.”
WWE then announced on Monday morning that it had hired Catherine Newman to be the company’s new Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing. Many of Newman’s responsibilities seem to overlap with Stephanie’s position.
“WWE (NYSE: WWE) today announced that Catherine Newman has been named Executive Vice President and Head of Marketing,” the company’s press release of the hiring read. “Newman brings more than two decades of executive experience to WWE including her most recent role as Chief Marketing Officer of Manchester United Media. She has also held senior positions at The Times of London and Financial Times, leading global marketing initiatives, developing strategic partnerships, and boosting subscription growth across various products. As part of WWE’s senior leadership team, Newman’s oversight will include Marketing, Brand, Community Relations, Entertainment Relations, Creative Services and Photography. She is a graduate of Loughborough University, a Chartered Institute of Marketing Postgraduate from Buckinghamshire New University and a Fellow & Mentor in the Marketing Academy, United Kingdom.”
Stay tuned for more updates on Stephanie’s status with the company as they become available. WWE returns to pay-per-view on July 2 with the Money in the Bank event. The show was originally scheduled to take place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, but has since been moved to the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
