Parsons to Depart as Time Warner Chief on Jan. 1
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 5, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- Jeff Bewkes will succeed Dick Parsons as the CEO of Time Warner Inc. on Jan. 1, the company announced Monday, completing a widely anticipated succession at the top of the world's largest media conglomerate.
Parsons, who is 59 years old, will stay on as chairman. He had taken over in 2002, just as the company was reeling in the aftermath of its disastrous decision to be acquired by AOL. A former lawyer and skilled negotiator, he helped restore the company's stature and rebuild its relations with Wall Street.
Bewkes, who is 55, was chief executive of HBO for seven years and helped transform the cable TV channel into a hugely profitable network that also consistently won critical acclaim with original programming including ''The Sopranos'' and ''Sex and the City.''
Investors will now be looking to Bewkes to take dramatic action to revive the company's long-suffering stock, which is still stuck at about the same level as when Parsons took over five years ago.
Bewkes had long been groomed as Parsons' successor, with only the exact timing of the changeover yet to be finalized. Bewkes was named to the Time Warner board this year, and took the title of chief operating officer two years ago.
Parsons, one of the most prominent black executives in corporate America, has spent much of his tenure repairing the damage from Time Warner's combination with AOL in 2000.
Rest of article here.
Not as hostile as Stanley O'Neal's departure, but I'm still sad to see Mr. Parsons go.
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