Chris Licht released a statement following his exit from CNN on Wednesday.
“This was an exciting but incredibly challenging assignment and I learned a lot over the past 13 months,” Licht said, per the network. “I’ve been lucky enough to have had a successful, fulfilling career and I look forward to my next chapter. I wish the team at CNN the very best, always.”
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced to staffers in the morning that Licht was leaving and would be succeeded in the interim by a leadership team that includes Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling, as well as David Leavy, who already had been announced as COO.
Licht started at CNN in May, 2022, but his tumultuous tenure started even before then, as he was tasked with shutting down CNN+, the network’s short-lived subscription streaming service.
Zaslav said in a statement, “I have known Chris for many years and have enormous respect for him, personally and professionally. This job was never going to be easy, especially at a time of great disruption and transformation, and Chris poured his heart and soul into it. He has a deep love for journalism and this business and that has been evident throughout his tenure. Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we had hoped – and ultimately that’s on me. I take responsibility.”
