CNN has filled the post of senior vice president for development and acquisitions. CNN Worldwide Managing Editor Mark Whitaker announced today that Vinnie Malhotra, a former program development executive at ESPN and longtime ABC News producer, has been hired for the post.

Malhotra will report to Amy Entelis, senior vice president for talent and content development, and will work in the Los Angeles offices of CNN. Malhotra will pursue development opportunities with outside production companies on behalf of the various networks of CNN Worldwide, the network said.

In a statement, Entelis said: “Vinnie has a strong record of creating captivating programming, an award-winning news background covering major national and international stories, and experience integrating content across multiple platforms. We welcome Vinnie to CNN and are thrilled to have him join our team.”

As vice president, executive producer, content development at ESPN, Malhotra was responsible for the development of the documentary films "Everything in Between: The Tim Tebow Story," "The Color Orange," "The Brady 6" and "The Marinovich Project." He also developed scripted and non-scripted series for the network.

Prior to joining ESPN, Malhotra was with ABC News in 1997 and worked on "Nightline" and "World News Tonight." He was a producer for Peter Jennings for three years and later worked with co-anchors Elizabeth Vargas and Bob Woodruff. When Woodruff and a cameraman were hit by an IED in Iraq in January 2006, Malhotra was with them, but escaped without injury.