Mike Kavanagh, the new leader of NBCUniversal, has reformed the senior ranks

Mike Kavanagh started out by putting his stamp on NBCUniversal.

Mr. Kavanagh, who took over the company in April, announced Thursday that he is giving Donna Langley, the company’s director of films, overall oversight over creative decisions for the company’s entertainment content, including films and TV shows for the Peacock streaming service. Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Broadcasting, is also being promoted, given the broader scope of business decisions for some of the company’s creative content.

Other executives who will remain on Mr. Kavanagh’s leadership team include Cesar Conde, chairman of NBCUniversal News Group, who will oversee local Telemundo and NBC stations, and Mark Woodbury, president of the company’s parks.

Mr. Kavanagh is essentially trimming the number of executives who report directly to him, which is streamlining the company’s leadership ranks. He will also continue to work directly with Adam Miller, Executive Vice President who oversees Operations and Technology, as well as Communications, Human Resources and CSR; Kim Harris, the company’s general counsel; Anand Kenny, Chief Financial Officer, NBCUniversal; and Craig Robinson, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer.

The promotions were the first major step Mr. Kavanagh has taken since taking over the leadership of the company. Its former CEO, Jeff Shell, resigned after a sexual harassment investigation.

In an internal memo, Mr. Kavanagh said the changes will allow NBCUniversal to better compete in a business environment full of cord-cutters — abandoning traditional pay-TV — and new competitors.

“I am so excited to be working with this team to build on our great momentum and move NBCU forward,” he wrote.

Mr. Kavanagh, Susan Rovner, NBCUniversal TV and Streaming’s chief entertainment content officer, wrote that he is leaving the company as part of the reorganization. Francis Berwick will be promoted to Chairman of the Board of NBCUniversal Entertainment, and will report to Mr. Lazarus and Ms. Langley.

Since taking over as Mr. Shell, Mr. Kavanagh has visited the company’s offices in Los Angeles, New York and London and has gotten to know stars like “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon. He has mostly sought to carry on as business as usual, telling the people he works with that things will remain unchanged while the company absorbs Mr. Shell’s departure.

Mr. Kavanagh has had to deal with unexpected upheaval in his short time in the role, including the sudden departure of the company’s head of ad sales, Linda Iacarino, who left NBCUniversal to become CEO of Twitter. Ms. Yaccarino left just as the company was preparing its annual show for advertisers, known as the Overture, which accounts for a large portion of its revenue for the year.

In promoting Mrs. Langley, NBCUniversal is betting on an experienced creative executive with a string of recent box office successes. Along with Chris Meledandri, CEO of animation studio Illumination, Ms. Langley has shepherded hits like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed over $1 billion, and “Minions: The Rise of Gru,” which came out last year. and grossed more than $900 million worldwide.

Mr. Lazarus, who oversees NBCUniversal’s television networks and the company’s broadcast business, has been with the company for more than a decade. During his years with the company, Mr. Lazarus was responsible for closing deals with the Olympic Games, the National Football League and the English Premier League, and was a driving force in the growth of “Sunday Night Football,” the company’s flagship NFL program.