New CEO Named for Turner Broadcasting

NEW YORK: John K. Martin will assume the role of CEO of Turner Broadcasting System at the start of next year, succeeding Phil Kent, who will remain as chairman for a transitionary period in 2014.

“Phil Kent’s exceptional leadership at Turner has driven much of Time Warner’s recent success," said Jeff Bewkes, chairman and CEO of Time Warner. "For the past decade, he has expertly guided the Turner networks through a period of rapid change, all the while building on each network’s leading position with viewers and advertisers and forging stronger relationships with distributors. At Phil’s initiation, he and I agreed that now is the right time to announce the next generation of leadership, and I am pleased that he will serve as chairman.”

Martin is currently chief financial and administrative officer at Time Warner, a role he assumed in 2008 after serving as executive VP and CFO at Time Warner Cable. Before that he spent more than a decade at Time Warner. Bewkes said of the incoming Turner chief: “John is one of the most capable and strategically-minded executives I know. As CFO, he led the design and implementation of our financial strategy that has helped Time Warner deliver superior shareholder returns. But he is also a broad and thoughtful business thinker whose inclusive management style and focus on driving the business forward will fit well with the Turner tradition. I have great confidence he will build on the success Phil has achieved to take Turner to even greater heights.”