CBS Appoints New Acting President As Investigations Continue

CBS has appointed Strauss Zelnick as interim president, the company said in a statement released on Sunday.

Zelnick, CEO of video game company Take Two Interactive, succeeds Richard Parsons, who said he was retiring for health reasons.

"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 felt that the situation was manageable, "Parsons said in a statement. "Unfortunately, unplanned complications have created new challenges, and my doctors have advised reducing my current commitments is essential to my overall recovery."

Zelnick became CEO of Take-Two in 2007 after holding the positions of COO of 20th Century Fox and CEO of the music company BMG Entertainment. Take-Two owns several video game production companies, including Rockstar, making the "Grand Theft Auto" emblem.

Mr. Zelnick will now be responsible for dealing with the legal issues that CBS faces as a result of the departure of President and CEO, Leslie Moonves, in September.

The board of directors must judicially review allegations of sexual misconduct against Moonves and whether sexual misconduct has been tolerated by society, which hosts the television network CBS Showtime, and publisher Simon & Schuster, among other assets.

CBS is also collaborating in other investigations into allegations of improper conduct by the Attorney General's Office of the State of New York and the New York City Human Rights Commission, as well as that's at a request for information from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

The board will also have to decide to grant Moonves a termination indemnity once it has received a report from the two outside law firms that are investigating the company's culture as well as about the allegations of wrongdoing against Moonves. Moonves has denied any wrongdoing.

The CAS Board is also looking for a new Executive Director. Its interim CEO, Joseph Ianniello, has redoubled his efforts in aligning CBS management since his promotion to Chief Operating Officer. Ianniello has appointed David Nevins, CEO of Showtime, Creative Director of CBS, and Christina Spade, Chief Financial Officer. CBS also appointed a new Human Resources Leader, Laurie Rosenfield, and promoted Dana McClintock to the position of Chief Communications Officer.

CAS has also decided to look more aggressively at complaints. The firm dismissed Vincent Favale, executive vice president of talent relations, and said he was investigating allegations of his behavior.

The company also terminated its contract with Brad Kern, a veteran consultant producer on "NCIS: New Orleans", after receiving complaints.

The company will hold its annual meeting of shareholders on December 11.