Participant rehires CNN Films exec to head up documentary content

Courtney Sexton

Participant has rehired CNN Films exec Courtney Sexton to oversee all of the company’s documentary programming.

Sexton will return to Participant early next year, having previously spent eight years as a development executive with the company, during which time she worked on projects such as An Inconvenient Truth, Food, Inc. and Page One: Inside The New York Times.

Reporting to CEO David Linde, she takes on the role of EVP of documentary film and television, with her appointment following the death of Participant CCO and documentary leader Diane Weyermann, who passed away in October 2021 and who Sexton described as her “mentor.”

During her time as SVP of CNN Films, Sexton oversaw the production of documentary films for theatrical release and distribution across CNN platforms, working on titles such as RBG, Love, Gilda and Three Identical Strangers.

Participant’s upcoming documentary feature releases meanwhile include All The Beauty And The Bloodshed and Lowndes County And The Road To Black Power.

“I’ve had the good fortune to work with the brilliant team at CNN Films, and I am incredibly proud of the projects we produced together over the last nine years,” said Sexton. “The chance to return to Participant and contribute to my mentor Diane’s legacy is a profound honor – I look forward to embarking on this new chapter.”