NBCUniversal promotes O’Brien to President, International Networks and D2C
March 10, 2026
NBCUniversal Media Group has announced that Gus O’Brien is promoted to President, International Networks and Direct-to-Consumer. O’Brien will assume this role on April 1st as Ken Bettsteller, outgoing president of the group, will move into an advisory role focusing on key international NBCU Media Group ventures.
“Our International Networks & Direct-to-Consumer portfolio brings some of our most beloved brands to audiences around the world, including a suite of popular networks, the hybrid linear/non-linear service Universal+, and the all-reality SVoD service Hayu,” commented Matt Strauss, Chairman, NBCUniversal Media Group. “Gus is a worthy successor to Ken Bettsteller – who has been a formidable leader in our company for over two decades – and I’m excited for Gus to bring his innovative leadership to the broader group, working with the international management team to further strengthen and support these brands.”
O’Brien moves into this elevated position from his role as Managing Director, Latin America, which he has held since 2020. In the role, he and his team have managed longstanding joint ventures for Spanish Latin America and Brazil and pivoted a pure cable networks portfolio to streaming, via the launch of Universal+.
Concurrently, Hendrik McDermott will expand his current remit leading Europe, Middle East and Africa Networks & DTC, and Hayu – which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this month – to incorporate all DTC across NBCUniversal’s international footprint as Managing Director, International DTC & EMEA, Canada.
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