Alex Wellen

Chief Product Officer, CNN Digital

Atlanta

ALEX WELLEN is CNN’s chief product officer, responsible for the product, technology, and strategic vision of CNN’s mobile, web, data, video, TV, and emerging platforms. He also oversees the global business operations for CNN's digital platforms, and is the executive-in-charge of CNN Worldwide's TV Everywhere and CNNgo initiatives – a suite of 24-hour interactive and bleeding-edge consumer products aimed at redefining the television and digital news experience. CNNgo is currently available domestically to more than 86 million TV subscribers.

Wellen brings twenty years of diverse experience building high-performance cross-functional teams that have consistently delivered world-class businesses. A thought leader specializing in the convergence of traditional and new media, he possesses deep expertise in launching and growing multi-

platform TV and digital properties and video platforms. Throughout his career Wellen has implemented strategic, integrated, and editorially driven news services and disruptive technologies.

Since joining CNN nine years ago, Wellen has held a series of roles for CNN Worldwide. Previously he served as vice president of business, products, strategy, and operations where he grew CNN Digital’s traffic and finances by triple digits. Prior to that, Wellen was vice president of video products and

business where he oversaw the reinvention of the CNN.com video experience. He served as the senior executive producer for integrated programming on behalf of CNN/US, spearheading CNN Worldwide’s strategy to integrate CNN TV’s programming and CNN Digital’s editorial content and products across all platforms and devices. Wellen was also deputy political director for digital content. His contributions to Election Night 2006 earned his team an Emmy Award. The network’s multi platform coverage of the 2008 presidential primary campaigns, debates, and Election Night 2008 garnered CNN a National Headliner and Peabody Award. In addition to his work in the CNN Political Unit, Wellen was a senior producer and on-air legal analyst for The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.

Before working in media, Alex Wellen was a high-tech intellectual property litigator at the New York law firm Pennie & Edmonds. He has published two novels with Random House and is the inventor on dozens of patents.  Wellen holds a law degree from Temple University, a systems engineering degree from Rutgers, and attended the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

Wellen is based at CNN’s world headquarters in Atlanta.