Chris Licht Out at CNN Worldwide

Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, has stepped down, effective immediately.

Licht has served in this role since May 2022, following a career in broadcast and network television, most recently as executive VP of special programming at CBS and executive producer and showrunner for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Prior to that, he was VP of programming for CBS News and executive producer of the network’s morning news program, CBS This Morning.

As the company searches for a replacement, it has put in place an interim leadership team comprising Amy Entelis, executive VP of talent and content development; Virginia Moseley, executive VP of editorial; and Eric Sherling, executive VP of U.S. programming, as well as David Leavy, chief operating officer, on the commercial side.

“I have great respect for Chris, personally and professionally,” said David Zaslav, president and CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery. “The job of leading CNN was never going to be easy, especially at a time of huge disruption and transformation, and he has poured his heart and soul into it. While we know we have work to do as we look to identify a new leader, we have absolute confidence in the team we have in place and will continue to fight for CNN and its world class journalism.”