Paul Guyardo
Chief Commercial Officer, Discovery Communications
As Chief Commercial Officer, Paul Guyardo oversees Discovery Communications’ U.S. ad sales, digital media, licensing and consumer products, consumer insights and data analytics divisions. In this role, he monetizes Discovery’s portfolio of valuable assets to distributors, advertising partners and directly to consumers. Additionally, he is responsible for working with Discovery Networks International to drive its burgeoning international direct-to-consumer business. Guyardo reports to Discovery Communications President and CEO David Zaslav.
Previously, Guyardo served as Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer for DIRECTV, Inc., the nation’s number one satellite television service. In this role, he was responsible for all functions that drove the company’s $26 billion in annual U.S. revenue including all sales and distribution channels, marketing, advertising, pricing & packaging, ad sales including addressable and digital platforms, directv.com, sports, premium channels and on-demand businesses, customer retention, product management, consumer research, business analytics, public relations and creative services.
During his 10 years at DIRECTV, Guyardo’s leadership drove annual U.S. revenue from $12.2 billion to $26 billion and the U.S. subscriber base from 15 million to 20 million customers, due in large part to a relentless focus on customer segmentation and data analytics. Other accomplishments included memorable TV ads that earned 11 Cannes Gold Lions, reducing churn to the lowest level in the industry; double-digit growth of the advertising sales and commercial businesses; and multiple re-launches of directv.com that transformed the site into a major sales channel of highly profitable customers and a destination for over 50 million self-care transactions and TV Everywhere views.
Prior to joining DIRECTV, Guyardo was Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Kmart Corporation. He joined Kmart following the retail giant’s emergence from bankruptcy and was part of the senior management team that quickly returned the mass retailer to sales growth and profitability.
Before Kmart, Guyardo was Executive Vice President of Television and Marketing for HSN. He began his career in advertising and brand management working on major businesses and accounts including AT&T, Johnson & Johnson, Tide, Ivory, Taco Bell and Lays Brand Potato Chips.
Guyardo holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Northwestern University. He serves on the National Advisory Council for Northwestern University’s School of Communication, on the NutriSystem Board of Directors and is an Executive Mentor for the New York and New Jersey All-Star Project.
Guyardo is based in Discovery’s New York office.