Industry Moves: Logan Retiring, Bewkes Promoted At Time Warner

The line of succession just became a lot clearer at Time Warner with word that Jeff Bewkes has been appointed president and COO while Don Logan will retire at the end of the year and become non-executive chairman of Time Warner Cable’s board. The two were appointed group chairmen by Dick Parsons after he became chairman and CEO in 2002 — Bewkes, chairman of the Entertainment & Networks Group and Logan, chairman of Media & Communications.
In the press release, Parsons lists a litany of accomplishments since then, and adds, “Now, after having accomplished all that together, we’re smoothly transitioning our senior management team with Don’s well-earned retirement and Jeff’s well-deserved promotion.”
The most shocking thing about either piece of news may be the timing: it’s been more likely all along that Bewkes, who has been part of some of the company’s most glittering successes in recent years and could answer a casting call for CEO, would outlast 35-year-vet Larson Logan. And even the timing isn’t much of a mystery; after all, Bewkes has an employment agreement that gave him the right to resign with few limitations if he wasn’t appointed president and COO by Jan. 1, 2006.
Larson, who had been chairman and CEO of Time Inc., has overseen some of the most complicated matters facing TW — the stabilization of AOL, the Comcast-Adelphia transactions, arrangements for a spin-off of some of TWC, the changing ad environment for magazines, and more.Press release.

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