New HBO leaders at a glance

Execs reshuffled after shakeup at cabler
By VARIETY STAFF
The new HBO leaders at a glance:

n Bill Nelson, who'd been interim CEO, was named chairman-CEO, upped from his role of chief operating officer under Chris Albrecht

n Exec veep and strategy guru Richard Plepler has been given a co-prexy title and the top programming job in New York. The move marks a remarkable rise for Plepler, who began at the net two decades ago as a publicist and has grown into an influential job as a strategist.

n Gotham-based general counsel Harold Akselrad and sales and marketing topper Eric Kessler were also named co-prexies, reporting to Nelson. Akselrad will head legal and biz affairs, tech initiatives and the net's critical output deals, while Kessler will add global distribution and domestic syndication to his previous portfolio of sales and marketing

n L.A.-based Michael Lombardo, formerly exec veep of biz affairs production and programming, is prexy of the programming group and head of West Coast operations. He will report to Plepler, while HBO's four programming divisions -- HBO Documentaries, HBO Films, HBO Original Programming and HBO Sports -- will report to him.