Premium cable network HBO has appointed Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller as executive vice presidents of HBO Documentary Films, replacing the outgoing Sheila Nevins.

Nevins announced on Saturday (Dec. 16) in a New York Times profile  that she would be stepping down from her role as president with HBO Documentary and Family Programming following a 38-year tenure at the New York-based network. She will be leaving the network early next year.

Both Abraham (pictured, left) and Heller (pictured, right) currently serve as senior VPs of HBO Documentary and Family Programming and are responsible for the development, production and acquisition of HBO documentaries and family programs. They will now jointly serve as executive VP’s for the Documentary and Family Programming division.

Abraham joined HBO’s documentary division in 1995 and was elevated to VP of documentary programming three years later before rising to become SVP in 2009.

Her executive programming credits include Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, Cries From Syria, Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper, Life According to Sam, Six by Sondheim, The Loving Story, Ethel and Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory.

Heller, meanwhile, boarded HBO’s documentary unit in 2000 and was lifted to VP of documentary programming in 2001. She was again promoted in 2012 to SVP.

Heller’s executive production credits include such documentaries as Born into Brothels, Capturing the Friedmans, Everything Is Copy – Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted, Spielberg, The Black List, The Words That Built America and The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.

Prior to joining HBO’s documentary unit, Heller served as executive producer at PBS’s long-running documentary strand ‘POV’.

“With Nancy and Lisa leading a stellar team, there will be a continued commitment to the excellence that was a hallmark of Sheila’s tenure,” said Casey Bloys, president of HBO programming, in a statement. “Our viewers can look forward to a compelling slate of programming.”

The HBO documentary unit also features SVPs Sara Bernstein and Jacqueline Glover.