CNN has announced that former New York Times CEO Mark Thompson will be its new Chief Executive Officer. Thompson will succeed Jeff Zucker in the role and begin his role on April 12th.
In a statement, CNN said that Thompson has “a distinguished career leading media organizations with his deep experience in international news, technology and publishing.” Thompson was most recently the director-general of the BBC, before which he was CEO of the Times of London, and CEO of the New York Times Company.
Thompson said in a statement that “I am delighted and privileged to be taking up this role at such an important and transformative time in CNN’s history. I am extremely impressed by the ambition of CNN’s leadership team and am looking forward to helping take the network to yet greater heights.”
Thompson will report to CNN parent company WarnerMedia’s chief executive Ann Sarnoff. He will also serve on the board of Time Warner Investments, a private venture capital fund.
Jeff Zucker, who has been CEO of CNN since 2013, said in a statement that he was excited for Thompson to take over, and praised his experience in international news, technology, and publishing. Zucker also said that he looks forward to working with Thompson and helping make CNN even stronger.
