Former Condi Rice White House Aide to Take Post at NBC

April 2, 2004 - New York Times
Former White House Aide to Take Post at NBC

Anna Perez, who recently directed communications at the National Security Council, will become chief communications executive for NBC, the network announced yesterday.

Ms. Perez will take up the post of executive vice president for communications, but her duties will expand when NBC becomes NBC-Universal after the expected completion of the network's merger with entertainment units of Vivendi Universal.

The deal is expected to be approved by June. Ms. Perez will start at NBC on May 1.

She left the White House in December, where her titles included counselor for communications to President's Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice. Ms. Perez also worked in the White House for the first President Bush, as Barbara Bush's press secretary.

In the mid-1990's she was head of communications at the Creative Artists Agency in Hollywood, when it was led by Michael S. Ovitz and Ron Meyer. Mr. Meyer is now the head of Universal Studios, a job he is expected to retain after the NBC merger.

"I love the television business," Ms. Perez said. "I have no expertise in it so I will have a bit of learning curve. But I can't remember the last time I didn't have a learning curve when I took a new job.''