Media mogul and cable TV pioneer John Malone has decided not to seek re-election to the Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) board of directors at the company’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled for June 2, 2025.
Instead, he will transition to the role of chair emeritus, a move announced by WBD Friday. In this new capacity, Malone will continue to attend board meetings regularly and provide strategic counsel to the board and management team, while stepping back from day-to-day oversight and relinquishing his board vote.
Malone, 84, played a pivotal role in orchestrating the 2022 merger between Discovery, where he was a major shareholder, and WarnerMedia, creating WBD. His decision to step down is not due to any disagreement with the company, and he remains a significant shareholder, reportedly holding about 0.8% of WBD stock as of 2024.
Malone’s influence in the media industry is extensive, with a career spanning decades, including leading Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI) and founding the Liberty Media empire, which has stakes in companies like Charter Communications and SiriusXM. He is also chairman of Liberty Media and Liberty Global.
WBD’s CEO, David Zaslav, praised Malone’s “brilliant strategic mind” and credited his insights for shaping the company’s trajectory, particularly through the merger and its ongoing challenges, such as managing a heavy debt load from the deal. Malone expressed confidence in WBD’s future, citing progress in making the company “resilient, agile, and positioned for profitable growth.” He emphasized his continued involvement as both a shareholder and advisor, noting his admiration for WBD’s assets and storytelling.
The board will maintain its size at 13 directors, with 12 independent, as WBD plans to nominate Anton Levy, a tech investor from General Atlantic, to fill the vacancy.
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