• November 2, 2005

Viacom's MTV Networks will get some extra help at the senior executive level by naming McKinsey & Co.'s former managing partner, Michael J. Wolf, to the newly created post of president and COO.

Wolf has been a consultant to CEOs at major media companies, including MTV Networks. He was the former managing partner of McKinsey & Company's Global Media Entertainment and Information practice. As MTV Networks' president and COO, he will be in charge of business and technology operations, heading up the company's TV, Internet, and mobile device strategy. Judy McGrath, chairman and CEO of MTV Networks, said in a statement that one of his main areas of expertise is the digital media and marketing world--an area in which MTV is looking to extend its global brands. Wolf said in a statement: "MTV Networks is the one company in the entertainment industry where the Internet meets television and television meets the Internet. It is the nexus of the new and the old." Wolf had been with McKinsey since 2001. Previously, he was a senior partner with Booz Allen & Hamilton, where he led its media and entertainment group.

--Wayne Friedman