Les Moonves (Man Who Sabotaged Janet Jackson’s Career) Out At CBS

September 10, 2018

*(Via Deadline) – After months of bitter legal battles with National Amusements and two waves of sexual-misconduct allegations, Les Moonves is officially out as chairman and CEO of CBS, enabling NAI chief Shari Redstone to declare victory again.

The exit of Moonves marks the end of his 24-year run at the company as one of media’s most imposing chief executives. As part of the settlement, he and CBS are donating $20 million to one or more organizations that support the #MeToo movement.

The company was silent on the terms of a possible settlement with Moonves, who had been negotiating a $100 million exit package. However it said the charitable donations have been deducted from any severance benefits Moonves would receive, pending the outcome of the ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct.

Moonves’ departure comes as part of a sweeping series of agreements that formally end hostilities between CBS and the media company’s controlling shareholder.

CBS agreed to drop its lawsuit against Redstone and the family’s holding company, National Amusements. The CBS board unanimously rescinded the dividend it previously approved which sought to dilute the Redstone family’s control over the company.

National Amusements will appoint six new independent directors to the CBS board, including former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons. The other newcomers are: Candace Beinecke, an attorney the firm Hughes Hubbard & Reed who is known for her expertise in mergers and acquisitions, Barbara Byrne, retired vice chairman of Barclays investment bank, Brian Goldner, chairman and chief executive of Hasbro, Susan Schuman, CEO of the consulting firm SyPartners, which works with businesses undergoing cultural transformations, and Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two Interactive Software and a former Fox and Columbia Pictures executive.

Get the FULL story at Deadline.

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