• by Wayne Friedman , July 8, 2009

NBC Universal has found a chief corporate communications executive to replace Cory Shields: NBC News communications veteran Allison Gollust.

Gollust will become executive vice president of corporate communications for NBC Universal, reporting directly to Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal.

Senior vice president of NBC News Communications since 2005 and key to its communication strategy since 2002, she has worked with various shows, including "Today," "Nightly News with Brian Williams," "Dateline" and "Meet the Press." Gollust also oversaw communications efforts at MSNBC, CNBC and The Weather Channel.

"Allison is an accomplished communications strategist who I've had the good fortune of working closely with for more than a decade," Zucker said in a statement.

Gollust has had a long history with Zucker, starting in 1998, when she joined "Today" as a senior publicist. Zucker had been executive producer of the show. She will be responsible for all of NBC Universal's assets, content and executives, overseeing domestic and international media strategy and execution, executive communications, internal communications, corporate philanthropy, and community relations.

She succeeds Cory Shields, who was recently named executive vice president of Global Policy Strategies and Alliances for NBC Universal.