After the June departure of President and CEO Chris Licht, CNN has been without a sole leader. That could be changing.
Former New York Times and BBC CEO Mark Thompson is on the short list of candidates to replace Licht, according to a report from Seamfor’s Ben Smith.
Thompson departed the New York Times in 2020 after leading the organization for eight years. He previously worked as a producer for the BBC and Channel 4 in England.
The 66-year-old is viewed as a leading candidate by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav due to his experience as a television “turnaround artist”.
Earlier this year, Thompson was Knighted by King Charles for his services to British media.
After Warner Bros. Discovery announced Licht’s exit, Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley, Eric Sherling, and David Leavy were named as the organization’s current leadership group. Under their tutelage, the primetime lineup was revamped to now feature Abby Phillip and Laura Coates after the addition of Kaitlan Collins to the network’s 9:00 PM ET timeslot.
