Veteran Time Warner Inc. communications chief Edward Adler has submitted his resignation at the media giant to pursue other opportunities, the company said Friday.
Adler, 55, will leave the company after an undetermined transition period. He did not reveal what his new plans are.
"I'm looking forward to my next gig," Adler said in a brief interview Friday.
A replacement has not yet been named.
News of his departure comes as a bit of a surprise. A well-liked executive in the cable community, Adler was also known for his fierce loyalty to the company he has worked for throughout his entire career.
In a statement, Time Warner Inc. chairman and CEO Jeffrey Bewkes said he reluctantly accepted Adler's resignation.
"Ed has made an enormous contribution to the evolution of Time Warner over the course of his career, expertly guiding our communications efforts through some of the company's most momentous changes," Bewkes said. "Ed's strategic initiatives supported last year's reconfiguration of the company and built our momentum as we move forward focused on Time Warner's great strengths. It was only because we are now on such solid ground that, after discussing it with him, I reluctantly accepted Ed's decision to look for new opportunities to apply his talents and capabilities. We all wish him the very best in the next phase of his career, and I personally appreciate his willingness to stay on for a transition."
Adler started his career at Time Warner while still in college, working as a reporter for Time magazine, a programming executive at Home Box Office and a news editor in Time Inc.'s magazine development area before moving to corporate communications for the company. Adler served as vice president of corporate communications in 1997, was promoted to senior vice president in 2000.
In his current position as executive vice president of corporate communications, Adler oversees all aspects of the development and implementation of Time Warner's corporate communications strategy, including media relations, as well as internal and external communications. Adler also supervises the interaction and coordination of the communications functions of Time Warner and its operating divisions, working closely with the chief communications officers of Time Warner's business units. He also is responsible for overseeing the company's program of branded public events and activities at its world headquarters in Time Warner Center.
Adler is a graduate of Vassar College and has an M.A. in journalism from New York University. He is also a member of the boards of directors of New York Cares and The City Parks Foundation.
"I have spent my entire career at Time Warner and, with the company on very solid footing under Jeff's leadership, I felt this was the right moment to finally make the change I had wanted to make for some time," Adler said in a statement. "I am grateful to Jeff and to all the other exceptional colleagues and friends I've worked with over the course of a career filled with variety and challenge. It has been my privilege to lead a terrific team of communications professionals, and I know they will continue to serve the company well. I will always have a special connection to Time Warner, and I have enormous confidence in its future."
Mark Robichaux contributed to this report.
