Dick Parsons |
Richard Parsons reportedly will be stepping down as CEO of Time Warner Inc. sooner than May 2008, when his contract formally expires. Parsons could leave his position as early as next week and be replaced by president and chief operating officer Jeff Bewkes, according to The Times of London. The 59-year old has been CEO of Time Warner since 2002 and chairman since 2003.
So what's next for Parsons if and when he leaves Time Warner? Maybe a bid for New York City mayor. Parsons has been rumored to be considering a run during the next election, when incumbent Michael Bloomberg will not be able to run because of term limits. "Why would I rule anything out?" the media honcho, a Republican, told reporters at a Reuters media summit in 2006. "I don't know how these things start. But once they start, you seemingly can't get them back in the bottle." — Gerald Magpily
See story from The Times of London
See story about Parsons' possible mayoral run from Dealscape
See related story from Silicon Alley Insider
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While I agree that Parsons will leave earlier than May 2008, I doubt he will leave next week. If memory serves me, he will be attending a major international media conference in India. This will be neither the time nor the place to announce his retirement. As for Mr. Bewkes, a breath of fresh air will be good for the company and many people are hoping his first order of business will be to part ways with AOL. However, I think we should be objective and ask ourselves if he is the most qualified person for the job. If we compare him to the rest of the Directors at Time Warner, his corporate experience seems to be a bit lacking http://www.newsvisual.com/newsvisual/2007/10/is-parsons-on-h.html . Is Bewkes the best qualified person to turn TMX around?