Sesame Workshop CMO Samantha Matlin Exits

The top marketing executive at Sesame Workshop, Samantha Maltin, is waving goodbye to Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Elmo, according to reports.

Business Insider reported Friday that Maltin—who has been executive vice president and chief marketing and brand officer at the global nonprofit behind Sesame Street since 2019—is leaving for a new role at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Maltin was just the second chief marketing officer in Sesame Workshop’s 50-year history, according to Business Insider.

Sesame Workshop had not responded to a request for comment at the time of this post.

Maltin’s departure marks the second big change atop Sesame Workshop’s leadership in recent months, following July’s promotion of president Sherrie Westin to CEO.

More changes are coming to the iconic children’s television show.

Starting next year, the show’s magazine-style format will be scrapped in favor of two 11-minute narrative-driven segments, joined by a new animated series, Tales from 123, according to Business Insider.

That change will go into effect at the same time the five-year streaming rights deal between Sesame Street and Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming platform, comes to an end, and Business Insider reported that talks are underway to secure new distribution for the show.

Max, then known as HBO Max, removed roughly 200 episodes of Sesame Street in August 2019 as part of a wave of cost-cutting while preparing to combine HBO Max and Discovery+.

Prior to joining Sesame Workshop in July 2019, Maltin was a partner at data science strategy consulting firm Schireson, which is now part of marketing agency Known.