Posted on 11/05/2007 1:49:11 PM PST by abb
Dick Parsons is on the way out -- officially.
Time Warner (TWX) , the world's largest media conglomerate, on Monday confirmed widespread speculation that Jeff Bewkes will take the reins from Parsons as CEO.
The move is effective at the end of the year. Parsons will remain chairman of the company.
The ascension of Bewkes, Time Warner's president and chief operating officer, to CEO has long been expected, but the timing was unclear. In recent weeks, speculation has heated up that the change would be in the near future.
"Today's decision is the culmination of a thoughtful and disciplined process that began in early 2006, when Dick Parsons initially approached the Board to discuss the timetable for the CEO succession," said Robert Clark, chairman of Time Warner's nominating and governance committee.
Parsons' departure likely comes as welcome news on Wall Street, where the CEO is perceived as a force for the status quo. Many investors are hoping that Bewkes will be more willing to restructure the company and get its stock price moving.
Parsons' five-and-a-half-year tenure at Time Warner came at a difficult period for the company following its disastrous 2000 merger with Web giant AOL and before the bursting of the dot-com stock bubble. Since then, shares of Time Warner have been largely stagnant.
Shares of Time Warner were recently up 24 cents, or 1.3%, to $18.12.
ping
The Future of TIME
He’s at it again! :)
Such is the beauty of FR. WE get to decide what IS and ISN’T news. And we can post the rumor like we did the other day and then post it again when it happens. Just like real Editors and Publishers.
November 5, 2007
To: Time Warner Colleagues
From: Dick Parsons
Subject: Jeff Bewkes Named CEO as of January 1, 2008
I am delighted to let you know that, earlier today, the Board of Directors elected Jeff Bewkes as Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner, effective January 1, 2008.
Jeff is, quite simply, the best person I could imagine to lead Time Warner. As anyone who has worked with Jeff knows, he is a leader of remarkable intelligence, integrity, energy, and business acumen. He is also a truly decent individual, with a good sense of humor and a great sense of humanity. As CEO, Jeff will bring not only a deep knowledge of our businesses, but also an unmatched understanding of the opportunities ahead for the media industry. He will be a terrific CEO.
I am also proud of what we have accomplished over the past five years to strengthen this company. We stabilized our company during some difficult and challenging times, restored our company’s reputation, consistently met or exceeded our financial goals, streamlined and strengthened our portfolio of businesses, and continued to set the standard for quality, creativity, and journalistic integrity in the media business. At the same time, we made investments to transition our businesses to a more digital, diverse, and global media environment. We invested in the people who work for this company and have made real progress in building a workforce that has the skills and diversity of backgrounds and perspectives to ensure that the company succeeds in the coming years. And, not least, we also worked hard to live up to this company’s broader mission of serving the public interest.
We still, of course, have a lot of work ahead of us. The pace of change is accelerating in the media industry. That means that our company’s strategy will also need to continue to evolve in order to take advantage of the growth opportunities that lie ahead and to deliver superior value for our stockholders.
While I’ll step down as CEO at the end of this year, I’ll remain as Chairman of the Board. Although I’m sure that there will be more opportunities for Jeff and me to communicate with you during the coming months, we thought that it would be a good idea to put together a brief video to share our initial thoughts with you. Kindly click here if you’d like to watch the video or here to read the press release we issued today on Jeff’s appointment.
Please join me in offering congratulations and support to Jeff on his election as CEO of this company. Many thanks.
*(And then the company announces that he's saying until January, so it tanks again. A tough month for Dick's ego).I agree with your analysis.
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