CNN names Mark Thompson as its new chairman and CEO, replacing Chris Licht

Warner Bros. Discovery named former New York Times Company CEO Mark Thompson as CNN’s new chairman and CEO, succeeding Chris Licht as head of the struggling cable news outlet.

“Mark has been in the news business for more than four decades and, as many of you are aware, he has an exceptional track record of innovation and excellence,” Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav told CNN employees in a staff memo on Wednesday.

“I am confident he is exactly the leader we need to take the helm of CNN at this pivotal time.”

Zaslav said that Thompson will assume the helm at CNN beginning Oct. 9.

Thompson — who helped revitalize the Times’ finances by growing its digital subscriber base as the newspaper’s chief executive from 2012 to 2020 — would succeed Licht, who left the network in June after about a year in the role.