Presiding Governor Lynton Steps Down from the BBG Board
Washington, DC – Broadcasting Board of Governors leader Michael Lynton has informed the White House that he is leaving the BBG effective today.
“It has been an honor to serve our country by taking part in the work of this board, which was established to oversee an agency with a complex and vital calling,” Lynton wrote in a letter to President Barack Obama about his decision. “Time and time again, we have seen that the journalists and other staff of the BBG are dedicated to the agency’s mission: to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. They prove it around the clock and against steep odds, in many cases amid some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
“In an effort to sustain this mission, I was proud to work with fellow board members on promoting long-needed reforms of the agency’s structure and governance– among them, enhancing collaboration between the broadcasters and establishing the position of a Chief Executive Officer with day-to-day operational responsibilities,” he continued. “I wish the current members and our successors the very best in seeing these reforms through.”
Lynton thanked his fellow Governors for electing him to lead the Board in February 2012, adding, “circumstances kept me from taking part in their recent formal meetings, but it is my hope that the BBG board will enjoy a full and productive membership soon.”
Michael Lynton is CEO of Sony Entertainment, Inc. He is the former CEO of AOL Europe and Chairman and CEO of Pearson plc’s Penguin Group.
A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Lynton serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Rand Corporation, and the Harvard Board of Overseers. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.
Lynton was named the BBG’s interim presiding governor following the departure of Chairman Walter Isaacson. He joined the board on July 2, 2010, serving a term expiring on August 13, 2012. By law, any member whose term has expired may serve until a successor has been appointed and qualified. His departure leaves the Board with four members, including Secretary of State John Kerry, who serves as an ex-officio member.
Here is the full text of Lynton’s resignation letter:
May 23, 2013
The President
The White House
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
With this letter, I submit my resignation from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) effective May 23rd. 2013.
It has been an honor to serve our country by taking part in the work of this board, which was established to oversee an agency with a complex and vital calling. Time and time again, we have seen that the journalists and other staff of the BBG are dedicated to the agency’s mission: to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. They prove it around the clock and against steep odds, in many cases amid some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
In an effort to sustain this mission, I was proud to work with fellow board members on promoting long-needed reforms of the agency’s structure and governance– among them, enhancing collaboration between the broadcasters and establishing the position of a Chief Executive Officer with day-to-day operational responsibilities. I wish the current members and our successors the very best in seeing these reforms through.
And I’d like once more to thank fellow board members for asking me to take the reins more than a year ago. Circumstances kept me from taking part in their recent formal meetings, but it is my hope that the BBG board will enjoy a full and productive membership soon.
Respectfully,
Michael Lynton