Jeff Zucker (Wikipedia)
Former CNN boss Jeff Zucker’s has a new firm, RebBird IMI, where he is handling a billion dollars ready for investment. But he can’t stop thinking about CNN. The New York Times reported that Jeff Zucker is “waging a proxy war” against his successor at CNN Chris Licht.
Jeff Zucker is currently the CEO of the RedBird IMI and an Operating Partner at RedBird Capital Partners. RedBird IMI is a joint investment vehicle focused on acquiring, investing in and building large scale media, entertainment and sports content properties on a global basis. The Times said that many feel Zucker’s attacks on Licht are part of a planned campaign to undermine and discredit his successor from the outside.
The New York Times reported that the 58-year-old Jeff Zucker who led CNN for nine years has been criticizing Chris Licht behind closed doors. Under Licht, CNN’s revenue has dropped and the network has been loudly criticized for holding events like a recent “town hall” interview with Donald Trump.
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“It is wholly unsurprising that Jeff Zucker, the architect of CNN’s unprecedented success, would have deep misgivings about the direction the network has taken since he left,” spokeswoman for Jeff Zucker Risa Heller told the New York Times. “That he gets asked a lot, publicly and privately, and regularly from former colleagues, about what he thinks of CNN now.”
Jeff Zucker is still bitter about his ouster from CNN in 2022. His resignation came after a secret relationship with a subordinate at the network named Allison Gollust was uncovered. This may, however, have simply been the final straw for CNN after a number of gaffs were committed by Zucker. About his relationship with Gollust, Zucker said, “I gave them a gun, and they shot me with it.”
Founded by former Goldman Sachs Partner Gerry Cardinale, RedBird today manages $8.6 billion of capital principally across its core industry verticals in Sports, TMT, Consumer and Financial Services. RedBird invests with an entrepreneurial, company-building mentality, with an emphasis on capital appreciation and compounding equity returns over longer holding periods. RedBird’s network of business founders and entrepreneurs is central to its investment sourcing strategy, and its highly curated group of limited partners are active co-investors who provide scalable capital support.
Jeff Zucker served as President of CNN, from 2013-2022, and Chairman of WarnerMedia Sports from 2019-2022. In Jeff’s nine years at CNN, he oversaw a dramatic turnaround of the global news network, driving it to its largest audiences ever and turning it into the most used digital news and information outlet in the world. At WarnerMedia Sports he was responsible for all programming acquisitions, production, marketing, league relations and sales. The portfolio included partnerships with the NBA, NHL, MLB and the NCAA for the Men’s Basketball Championship.
Prior to CNN and WarnerMedia Sports, Jeff Zucker spent 25 years at NBC Universal. His ascent at NBC began in 1986 as a researcher for NBC Sports’ coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. He then took over NBC’s Today show at the age of 26 and re-invented the historic morning news program. After ten years there and four years as the President of NBC Entertainment, he became the President and CEO of NBCUniversal, from 2007-2011.
