Wonya Lucas, who joined Hallmark Media as president and CEO in 2020 at a time when the programmer needed an uplift, is leaving at the end of the year but will remain on the board of directors, the company said today. Hallmark Companies CEO Mike Perry, to whom she reported, will assume her responsibilities.
A savvy marketing and operations executive who rose through roles at CNN, Discovery, The Weather Channel and TV One, Lucas joined privately owned Hallmark about six months after the departure of longtime CEO Bill Abbott. Abbott left after backlash over the channel declining to broadcast a commercial that included two women kissing at their wedding. Perry apologized on Hallmark’s behalf (and later ran the commercial) but set out to find a leader at the channel who could repair any damage that might have been done to the Hallmark brand.
