NEW YORK — Jeff Bewkes will succeed Dick Parsons as chief executive of Time Warner Inc. on Jan. 1, the company announced Monday, completing a widely anticipated succession at the top of the world’s largest media conglomerate.
Parsons, who is 59 years old, will stay on as chairman. He had taken over in 2002, just as the company was reeling in the aftermath of its disastrous decision to be acquired by AOL. A former lawyer and skilled negotiator, he helped restore the company’s stature and rebuild its relations with Wall Street.
Bewkes, who is 55, was CEO of HBO for seven years and helped transform the cable- TV channel into a hugely profitable network that also consistently won critical acclaim with original programming such as “The Sopranos.” Investors will now be looking to Bewkes to take dramatic action to revive the firm’s long-suffering stock.
