Ben Sherwood Names 3 to Executive Team; Barbara Fedida, Susan Mercandetti return to ABC News
Four months into the top job at ABC News Ben Sherwood is building his executive team, and he’s tapped two former colleagues for leadership roles.
As we’ve been reporting, and is now official, Barbara Fedida is making a return to ABC News as SVP of talent and business. Fedida was talent VP at CBS News until February, departing amid an executive shuffle there. Fedida joined CBS News from ABC News in 2006, where she’d spent the previous 17 years, rising from production associate to producer to talent recruitment and development director.
Susan Mercandetti is also returning to ABC, after a run as executive editor at Random House. Mercandetti spent more than a decade at ABC News on “Good Morning America” and “Nightline.”
Sherwood is also bringing on Aol executive Joe Ruffolo as Senior VP of ABC News Digital. At Aol, Ruffolo was VP of AOL.com and Head of Current Programming. Ruffolo replaces Paul Slavin who, after 33 years with ABC News, left the company last week.
Fedida takes over for Amy Entelis who is leaving ABC News for Sucherman Consulting where she will be EVP of talent.
Fedida and Ruffolo start tomorrow. Mercandetti joins May 2.
> Update: Sherwood’s letter to staff, after the jump.






Nadine Cheung
Editor, The Job Post
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