Playboy Appoints David Miller as President, Media & Brand
Rhea-AI Summary
Playboy (NASDAQ: PLBY) appointed David Miller as President, Media & Brand effective Feb. 26, 2026. Miller joins from The Walt Disney Company’s National Geographic, where he managed global P&L and helped grow social reach to over 800 million followers and launched a digital subscription business.
In his role, Miller will oversee global media, licensing and platform growth to accelerate revenue, brand reach and scalable monetization while Ben Kohn focuses on strategic initiatives including a planned Miami Beach membership club and original programming.
Positive
- Appointment announced on Feb. 26, 2026
- Exec brings experience scaling brands to 800M+ social followers
- Track record includes launching a digital subscription business and global P&L leadership
Negative
- Press release provides no quantified financial targets or guidance tied to the hire
Key Figures
Market Reality Check
Peers on Argus
PLBY was down 6.22% pre-news while key peers showed mixed moves: JAKK -2.27%, DOGZ -3.36% (but flagged up in momentum scanner earlier), FNKO -0.39%, SRM +32.05%, ESCA -0.28%. This pattern points to stock-specific dynamics rather than a unified sector move.
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 24 | Prelim Q4 results | Positive | +9.8% | Preliminary Q4 2025 results showed revenue growth and sharp profitability improvement. |
| Feb 12 | IR engagement | Positive | -14.8% | Engaged MZ Group to lead strategic investor relations and communications program. |
| Feb 09 | China JV deal | Positive | +33.3% | Agreed to sell 50% of China business to UTG for $122M cash package. |
| Nov 13 | Investor conferences | Neutral | +1.2% | Announced participation in upcoming investor conferences to engage with investors. |
| Nov 12 | Q3 earnings | Positive | +22.1% | Reported Q3 2025 revenue growth with positive net income and higher licensing revenue. |
Positive operational or financial news has often coincided with strong upside moves, though investor-relations-focused updates have previously seen negative reactions.
Over recent months, Playboy has reported improving fundamentals and strategic repositioning. Q3 2025 delivered total revenue of $29.0 million and positive net income, followed by a Q4 2025 preliminary outlook showing revenue of $34.0–$35.0 million and a swing to net income of $2.5–$3.5 million. The company also signed a $122 million China joint venture and enhanced investor outreach. Against this backdrop, today’s leadership appointment in Media & Brand fits a broader shift toward asset-light, licensing and media-driven growth.
Market Pulse Summary
This announcement highlights Playboy’s effort to deepen its media and licensing capabilities by appointing a leader with experience scaling a global brand that reached over 800 million social followers and more than 275 million on a flagship Instagram account. It follows recent earnings improvements and a sizable China joint venture. Key factors to watch include how effectively new leadership grows digital audience reach, monetization, and licensing revenue within the existing asset-light strategy.
Key Terms
p&l financial
AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.
Media Veteran Miller to Oversee Global Licensing, Digital and Platform Growth
Senior Appointment Reflects Playboy’s Accelerating Growth Strategy and Expanding Media and Licensing Operations
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Playboy, Inc. (Nasdaq: PLBY) (“Playboy” or the “Company”), a global pleasure and leisure company, has announced that David Miller has been appointed President, Media & Brand, to drive the next phase of the Company’s growth.
Miller joins Playboy from The Walt Disney Company, where he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of National Geographic Media, with full P&L responsibility across global editorial, digital, print, and social operations. During his tenure, National Geographic became the most-followed brand on social media worldwide, reaching more than 800 million followers across platforms, including over 275 million on its flagship Instagram account. He led the launch of National Geographic’s first digital subscription business, expanded its global branded content studio, and expanded digital audience scale and monetization initiatives across platforms. National Geographic was named Webby Media Company of the Year in both 2020 and 2022 under his leadership.
Earlier in his career, Miller held senior digital and advertising technology roles at AOL following its acquisition of Lightningcast, a startup where Miller helped pioneer online video monetization, powering ad serving for platforms including Hulu and the NCAA March Madness live stream. He holds a bachelor’s degree in American government from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in business administration from The George Washington University School of Business.
As President, Media & Brand, Miller will oversee the growth and global expansion of Playboy’s media business and licensing operations, leveraging his deep experience scaling iconic brands across platforms to accelerate revenue and brand reach.
Ben Kohn, Chief Executive Officer and President of Playboy, commented: “This appointment represents a defining moment in Playboy’s transformation. Over the past several years, we have rebuilt our financial foundation, de-leveraged our balance sheet, and established the strategic framework to drive sustainable, profitable growth. With those building blocks in place, adding David to our leadership team allows us to aggressively execute on the return to growth that is now underway.
“With David driving our content, media and licensing operations, I will be able to focus more of my time on the strategic initiatives that will define Playboy’s next chapter, including our planned Miami Beach membership club, original programming opportunities, and continued expansion of our global licensing footprint. We believe we are building a diversified, high-margin, asset-light business with significant upside potential, and this hire is a clear reflection of where this company is headed.”
Miller concluded: “Playboy sits at a powerful intersection of brand equity, digital audience reach, and a global licensing platform. The next phase is about disciplined execution — building a modern media business that expands our audience, deepens engagement, and drives scalable monetization, while strengthening the value of our global licensing ecosystem. I’m excited to work with Ben and the leadership team to drive sustained growth and long-term value creation.”
About Playboy, Inc.
Playboy (Nasdaq: PLBY) is a global pleasure and leisure company, built on one of the most globally recognized brands. By leveraging its iconic intellectual property, Playboy pursues an asset-light model across licensing, digital content, consumer products and experiential offerings, helping consumers worldwide to live more fulfilling lives. To learn more, please visit https://investors.playboy.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect”, “estimate”, “project”, “budget”, “forecast”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “plan”, “may”, “will”, “could”, “should”, “believes”, “predicts”, “potential”, “continue”, and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s expectations with respect to future performance, growth plans and anticipated financial impacts of its strategic opportunities and corporate transactions.
These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) the inability to maintain the listing of the Company’s shares of common stock on Nasdaq; (2) the risk that the Company’s completed or proposed transactions disrupt the Company’s current plans and/or operations, including the risk that the Company does not complete any such proposed transactions or achieve the expected benefits from any transactions; (3) the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of corporate transactions, commercial collaborations, commercialization of digital assets, cost reduction initiatives and proposed transactions, which may be affected by, among other things, competition, the ability of the Company to grow and manage growth profitably, and the Company’s ability to retain its key employees; (4) costs related to being a public company, corporate transactions, commercial collaborations and proposed transactions; (5) changes in applicable laws or regulations; (6) the possibility that the Company may be adversely affected by global hostilities, supply chain delays, inflation, interest rates, tariffs, foreign currency exchange rates or other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; (7) risks relating to the uncertainty of the projected financial information of the Company, including changes in the Company’s estimates of cash flows and the fair value of certain of its intangible assets, including goodwill; (8) risks related to the organic and inorganic growth of the Company’s businesses, and the timing of expected business milestones; (9) changing demand or shopping patterns for the Company’s products and services; (10) failure of licensees, suppliers or other third-parties to fulfill their obligations to the Company; (11) the Company’s ability to comply with the terms of its indebtedness and other obligations; (12) changes in financing markets or the inability of the Company to obtain financing on attractive terms; and (13) other risks and uncertainties indicated from time to time in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive, and readers should not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date which they were made. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Investor Relations Contact
Lucas A. Zimmerman
Managing Director
MZ Group – MZ North America
+1 (949) 259-4987
PLBY@mzgroup.us
Public Relations Contact
press@playboy.com
FAQ
Who is David Miller and what role did he take at Playboy (PLBY) on Feb. 26, 2026?
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