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Media entrepreneur Strauss Zelnick replaced Richard Parsons as chairman of CBS Corp. on Sunday, an unexpected change as the venerable media company seeks to rebuild after the recent controversial dismissal of the former CEO , Leslie Moonves. Parsons invoked health reasons to justify his decision to withdraw.
"As some of you know, when I agreed to sit on the board of directors and assume the interim presidency, I was already facing a serious health problem, multiple myeloma, but I thought the situation was manageable. Unfortunately, unplanned complications have created new challenges, and my doctors have advised reducing my current commitments is critical to my overall recovery, "said Parsons in a statement made Sunday night. "I am confident that the distinguished CBS Board of Directors, now headed by Strauss Zelnick, as well as the strong CBS management team led by Joe Ianniello, will continue to successfully guide this company in its bright future."
CBS stated that its board of directors had taken the "unanimous decision" to appoint Zelnick as acting president.
CBS is preparing a new path since Moonves was forced to leave as a result of revelations in two New Yorker articles that several women claimed that he had been making unwanted sexual advances to them over the course of several years. Moonves challenged some of the charges. However, his departure has resulted in a reworked board of directors and an interim general manager, Joe Ianniello, who in recent weeks has decided to entrust new executives to several important functions of the company, including human resources and entertainment.
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CBS hired two different law firms to investigate Moonves' allegations as well as the company's internal culture. Its next annual meeting is scheduled for December 11th. It is hoped that the judicial investigations will be resolved by that time.
In Zelnick, CBS has an executive who has worked in many sectors of the media industry throughout his career. He is President and CEO of the video game company Take-Two Interactive Software and former CEO of BMG Entertainment. He also held the position of Chief Operating Officer 20th Century Fox.
The departure of Parsons may surprise investors and business watchers. The former Time Warner chief would have been instrumental in advising Shari Redstone, who heads CBS's majority shareholder, National Amusements, about the composition of the new CBS board set up in September. He also reportedly collaborated with the board of directors in search of a new CEO. Ianniello is one of the candidates, but outside people with ties to Parsons, including Turner's former CEO, John Martin, have also been cited.
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