21st Century Fox Announces New Murdoch Roles

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/17/business/media/21st-century-fox-announces-new-murdoch-roles.html

Version 0 of 1.

The media conglomerate 21st Century Fox announced on Tuesday that Rupert Murdoch’s two sons would assume new leadership roles in the company, continuing the elder Mr. Murdoch’s plans to keep control of the company in his family.

The appointments, effective July 1, had been telegraphed to investors and analysts for months, and were widely reported last week in advance of a company board meeting Tuesday morning.

James Murdoch, 42, will become chief executive at 21st Century Fox, succeeding his father, while Lachlan Murdoch, 43, will be executive co-chairman. The entertainment company includes cable and broadcast television networks, film studios and satellite companies.

The company said that its corporate functions and its global television and film operations would report jointly to Lachlan and James Murdoch.

Rupert Murdoch, 84, will stay on as executive co-chairman of the company he started in 1954 with a single Australian newspaper.

As part of the executive changes, Chase Carey will step down as chief operating officer at Fox. Widely respected on Wall Street as a stable force at the company, and long a trusted adviser to Rupert Murdoch, Mr. Carey will continue to work as an executive vice chairman through June 30, 2016.

In a shift, Roger Ailes, the chief executive of Fox News, will report to Lachlan and James Murdoch and "will continue his unique and long-standing relationship with Rupert," a company spokeswoman, Julie Henderson, said. In the past, Mr. Ailes has clashed with Lachlan Murdoch.

The leadership changes are part of a carefully devised succession plan. Mr. Murdoch long has desired that his children take over his $80 billion global media empire, which includes both 21st Century Fox and News Corporation, which is focused on publishing and owns The Wall Street Journal, a portfolio of British newspapers and the HarperCollins publishing house, among other assets. (The management changes do not affect News Corporation.)

“It has always been our priority to ensure stable, long-term leadership for the company, and these appointments achieve that goal,” Rupert Murdoch said in a statement. “Lachlan and James are each talented and accomplished executives and together, we, as shareholders and partners, will strive to take our company to new levels of growth and opportunity at a time of dynamic change in our industry.”

Mr. Murdoch is expected to remain active in the Fox business, going into the office and providing broad oversight, according to people who have been briefed on the plans.

The Murdochs retain effective control of the company through a dual-class stock structure that gives them more influence than ordinary shareholders. The Murdoch family trust owns about 40 percent of the voting shares in both 21st Century Fox and News Corporation. Rupert Murdoch has more rights in the family trust than his children.

In a joint statement, Lachlan and James Murdoch said: “We are both humbled by the opportunity to lead, with our father and the talented team of executives at 21st Century Fox, this extraordinary company.”

Wall Street reacted with a shrug last week when news broke that Mr. Murdoch was expected to pass the reins of his media empire to his sons. That move had been signaled 15 months ago when he named both sons to senior positions at the company.