Warner Bros. EVP of Communications Katie Martin Kelley to Join Netflix as VP Communications

Warner Bros. has confirmed that Katie Martin Kelley, an executive vice president of communications, is leaving the studio to join Netflix as vice president of communications, a move that will shift her from internal studio communications leadership to platform-wide film publicity and messaging for the streaming giant’s feature lineup.

According to Deadline, Martin Kelley will start at Netflix on Sept. 8. Her remit will include communications responsibilities for Netflix’s feature film portfolio under Dan Lin, whose projects span both development and production across the streaming studio’s theatrical and international slate.

At Warner Bros., Martin Kelley’s position placed her close to top Motion Picture Group leadership. Deadline described her as the right hand to Motion Picture Group chairman Michael De Luca and co-chair Pam Abdy, working within the communications function supporting the studio’s day-to-day media strategy and releases.

The transition comes as major studios and streamers continue to align communications teams more tightly with slate planning, marketing timelines, and cross-platform promotion. For studios, the departures of senior communications executives can affect how announcements are staged, how press and trade messaging is coordinated, and how continuity is maintained across overlapping productions and release windows.

Netflix’s film communications are structured to cover multiple categories at once, including press engagement tied to releases, executive visibility, and communications planning that moves in step with production milestones. Martin Kelley’s appointment, as outlined by Deadline, would place her at the point where those public-facing activities intersect with Dan Lin’s feature film work.

Warner Bros. has not, in the cited report, detailed Martin Kelley’s successor or an interim plan for communications coverage. The studio’s Motion Picture Group communications workflow typically includes coordination across publicity, legal review for statements, and timing-sensitive messaging for trailers, screenings, and trade reporting.

Netflix and Warner Bros. now face the near-term task of ensuring a smooth handoff for ongoing campaigns and stakeholder communications, including scheduling for press contacts and continuity across film projects that may have active marketing plans in the weeks leading up to Sept. 8.