CBS announces interim chairman after Moonves ouster

CBS announced Tuesday that former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons will take over as interim chairman now that Leslie Moonves has been ousted as CBS CEO.  

“Dick Parsons has a combination of deep industry knowledge and unmatched corporate and board experience,” Candace Beinecke, the chair of CBS’s nominating and governance committee, said, CNBC reports. 

“We are fortunate to have Dick in this leadership role,” she added.

JUST IN: CBS names former Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons as its interim chairman; also says Bruce Gordon and former defense secretary William Cohen are departing the board. CBS is still searching for a permanent replacement for ousted CEO Leslie Moonves. https://t.co/jn8limUSe7 pic.twitter.com/2I8RvgfnWW

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) September 25, 2018

Parsons expressed his high opinion of the CBS board and hope for future growth.

“We have a distinguished and independent Board that is steadfast in its commitment to serve the best interests of all shareholders,” Parsons said, according to CNBC. “I think I speak for all Board members when I say I look forward to learning more about CBS’ compelling opportunities and how we can help guide and support the Company’s growth.”

{mosads}Moonves resigned from his role earlier this month after new allegations of sexual misconduct against him emerged. 

Hours before he resigned, The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow reported that six additional women were accusing Moonves of sexual assault.

One of the women, Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb, alleged that Moonves forced her to perform oral sex and threw her into a wall when they worked together at a production company. 

Additional women accused Moonves of exposing himself to them without their consent, as well as threatening them with violence or hurting their careers after questionable incidents.  

This followed another Farrow report in July saying six women had accused Moonves of sexual harassment. Four described forced touching or kissing.

The company did not mention the allegations in their announcement of Moonves’s resignation, but the then-interim CBS CEO Joseph Ianniello did write, “never has it been more important for us to make it abundantly clear that CBS has a steadfast commitment to diversity, inclusion and a safe and positive working environment.”