LONDON: CNN Worldwide has appointed Rani Raad as president of CNN Commercial, in a new global position to broaden the company’s new business streams and increase the value that the network provides to commercial partners around the world. Raad, a Lebanese CNN veteran of 22 years, started his career at the network in New York before holding a number of senior international roles with CNN and WarnerMedia. In 2013, Raad combined all business operations of CNN’s properties outside of the US within the division CNN International Commercial (CNNIC), including advertising, sponsorship, content sales & licensing, out of home, marketing and audiences & data Since then, as president of CNNIC, Raad has developed the business by introducing a cross-platform and data-led strategy with increased digital capabilities, tailored for a wide range of client and market needs across over 200 countries and territories. Raad said, “I don’t think I have ever seen a time when CNN has been so influential, both in the US and internationally. An era of structural change in the media market, the increased demand for verified news and the economic impact of COVID-19 is fundamentally changing the way we need to work with our business partners.” Raad will work closely with WarnerMedia Sales and International on its CNN advertising and distribution activity, lead international business through CNN International Commercial, optimize CNN Worldwide’s directly controlled revenue operations and maximize the commercial potential of development of new products.