CBS Corp. Chairman and CEO, Leslie Moonves has been maintained as the company’s CEO in a decision made by its board of directors on Monday.
In the wake of sexual allegations leveled against the media conglomerate on Friday by six women in Ronan Farrow’s expose in The New Yorker, stakeholders of the company were uncertain about the credibility of Moonves holding such position. The Board of Directors in an agreement on Monday appears to have settled on Moonves to maintain his position as CEO.
The company said in a statement, “Its Board of Directors is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation. No other action was taken on this matter at today’s board meeting. Additionally, the Board determined to postpone CBS Corporations in 2018 annual meeting of stockholders that was previously scheduled to be held on August 10, 2018”.
Wall Street analysts have credited Moonves with overseeing CBS creative and financial success for more than a decade. He is one of the most powerful and best known executives in Hollywood. Moonves’ CBS compensation package for 2017 amounted to $69.3 million, following his earning $69.6 million in 2016.
In response to the allegations leveled against him on Friday, Moonves released a statement, with high hopes of bringing an end to the sexual misconduct allegations he was charged with by accepting blame for his actions which he referred to as a mistake on his part.
“Throughout my time at CBS, we have promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees and have consistently found success elevating women to top executive positions across our company. I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes and I regret them immediately. But always understood and respected – and abide by the principle – that ‘no’ means ‘no’, and have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career. This is a time when we all are appropriately focused on how we help improve our society and we at CBS are committed to being a part of the solution”.
The CBS CEO is a 1971 graduate of Bucknell University and has been conferred with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. Moonves name has, however, been deleted from the website of his alma mater including articles of his commencement address, which he read out at the school’s 2016 commencement address. Links to such articles were not working as of Monday afternoon
