Peter Liguori Stepping Down at Tribune Media

CHICAGO: Peter Liguori is stepping down from his role as CEO and president of Tribune Media and is also resigning from the company’s board of directors.

Liguori, who has been president and CEO since January 2013, will step down following the company’s 2016 fourth-quarter and full-year earnings release, expected to occur during the first week of March. This is also when he will resign from the board.

Tribune Media’s board of directors will conduct a search working with Korn Ferry to identify a new CEO.

Liguori has led the recent restructuring and transformation of Tribune Media. In 2013, the company acquired Local TV for $2.7 billion, which added 19 local television stations to its bouquet. In 2014, the company spun off its newspaper publishing division to its shareholders, and during this period, Liguori led Tribune’s strategic investments in WGN America and grew its brand and distribution to nearly 80 million households. In February of last year, Tribune Media announced a process to review its strategic and financial alternatives, resulting in the sale of certain real estate assets for more than $500 million and the pending sale of the company’s Gracenote metadata business to Nielsen for around $560 million.

“Following the successful completion of several financial, strategic and creative initiatives, culminating in the pending sale of Gracenote, Tribune Media is well advanced in its transformation to a more focused broadcast and cable networks company,” said Liguori. “I believe that now is the ideal time for a new leader to steer today’s Tribune. As curious and excited as I am about pursuing new opportunities, I am equally grateful for the achievements, commitment and integrity of this company’s management team and its dedicated employees.”

Bruce Karsh, the chairman of Tribune Media’s board of directors, added, “We greatly appreciate Peter’s leadership in the transformation of Tribune Media over the last four years, including the efforts to monetize non-core assets and simplify the company. It became clear to Peter and the board that in this last year of his contract it was time to find a new CEO to run the more broadcast-centric company.”