Mark Lazarus, president of Turner Entertainment Group, will leave the company, it was announced Tuesday.
In an e-mail sent to employees, Turner CEO
Phil Kent
said, “For some time now, Mark and I have been talking about the future structure of the company. In the new structure that I have decided upon, there was not a role of scale that Mark was interested in.”
Kent added that due to his leadership at Turner, “There are a great many options available to someone with Mark's accomplishments and reputation.”
Essentially the move removes a layer of management, with the people who had reported to Lazarus reporting directly to Kent.
Those are Steve Koonin, president of Turner Entertainment Networks; David Levy, who has been upped to president of Turner Broadcasting Sales; and Stuart Snyder, who becomes president and chief operating officer of Turner Animation, young adults and kids media.
“I feel a great sense of pride in what we have accomplished in my 18 years at Turner Broadcasting," said Lazarus in a statement released by Turner. "Leading and managing a group of people and a portfolio of businesses, we have achieved innovative success in the sports, entertainment and kids arenas for both television and the digital market. Having built long and enduring relationships throughout these industries, I look forward to my next challenge and opportunity.”--John Eggerton contributed to this report.
