BOSTON (June 4, 2018) – WGBH President Jonathan Abbott today announced the appointment of Claudia Palmer to serve as the Boston public media producer’s next Chief Operating Officer.

Palmer is an international business strategy leader who over the past two decades has successfully transformed operations in the media industry at the global news organization Reuters and EMI Music, establishing innovative new models and strengthening financial performance that generated resources to support their journalistic, creative, and cultural missions.

“Claudia’s deep understanding of media organizations, her expertise in strategic business approaches, and her passion for WGBH’s program content make her ideally suited for this role,” says Abbott. “I welcome her commitment to our mission, and her vision for a vibrant and creative workplace that will advance WGBH’s vital leadership role in public media, locally and nationally.”

Palmer will be responsible for overseeing all of WGBH’s operations, including Finance and Administration, Corporate Sponsorship, Digital Services, Human Resources, Marketing and Communications, Media Access Group, National Center for Accessible Media, Legal, Technology, and the regional television and radio services.

“I’m thrilled to be joining WGBH, an exceptional multimedia organization unparalleled in its range and breadth,” says Palmer. “I look forward to the opportunity to advance great journalism and exceptional content alongside the talented staff to serve audiences in Boston and across the country.”

In her four years at Reuters Palmer has been both the Chief Financial Officer for all of the editorial and commercial activities of the news organization and, most recently, the Chief Business Officer, overseeing its revenue-generating activities including the Reuters News Agency, Reuters Content Solutions, Reuters.com and Reuters TV. She led the development of Reuters Connect, an innovative news delivery platform from the Reuters News Agency.

Prior to Reuters, Palmer spent more than 15 years at the recorded music and song copyright business EMI, where she most recently ran the European region for its music publishing division as their Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Before that, she led Investor Relations for EMI Group. Previously, Palmer was vice president, business development at The North Face, where she worked to develop B2B and B2C sites. Earlier she was a strategy consultant at Bain & Company and The Parthenon Group, both in Boston.

A native of Connecticut, Palmer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Brown University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She will be relocating to Boston from London and will join WGBH at the end of July.

About WGBH
WGBH Boston is America’s preeminent public broadcaster and the largest producer of PBS content for TV and the Web, including Frontline, Nova, American Experience, Masterpiece, Antiques Roadshow, Arthur, and more than a dozen other prime-time, lifestyle, and children’s series, reaching nearly 75 million people each month. WGBH also is a major supplier of programming for public radio with Public Radio International (PRI). As a leader in educational multimedia for the classroom, WGBH supplies content to PBS LearningMedia, a national broadband service for teachers and students. WGBH also is a pioneer in technologies and services that make media accessible to those with hearing or visual impairments. WGBH has been recognized with hundreds of honors: Emmys, Peabodys, duPont-Columbia Awards and Oscars. Find more information at www.wgbh.org.