Adonis Hoffman Withdraws Bid For Tenga Board

A candidate for broadcaster Tegna Inc.’s board of directors has withdrawn his nomination, citing potential conflicts of interest and an incident that he says demonstrated cultural insensitivity by the company’s chief executive.

The Wall Street Journal reports Adonis Hoffman, a media attorney, consultant and former official at the Federal Communications Commission, indicated on March 3 that he will no longer be a candidate for the board, according to a statement from him that was sent to the Tegna board.

Hoffman said he may have conflicts of interest, since he serves as a strategic adviser to numerous companies, some of which are Tegna’s direct competitors or key business partners, according to his statement.

Adonis Hoffman

Hoffman also said in the statement that he was disturbed by an interaction in 2014 with Tegna CEO Dave Lougee. The men were seated at the same table at an industry event and spoke over lunch; afterward, Mr. Lougee mistook Mr. Hoffman for a valet, deeply offending Mr. Hoffman. At the time of the incident, Mr. Lougee was president of Gannett Co.’s broadcasting unit, which was later renamed Tegna.

“I have serious concerns whether Lougee and I could function as colleagues at Tegna or afford each other the level of professional comity and respect required of a well-functioning board,” Hoffman said in the statement that went to Tegna’s board.

In an email to Tegna employees on Monday, which a Tegna spokesman provided when asked for comment on the matter, Lougee described and took responsibility for the incident. “Mr. Hoffman was understandably offended and upset. I immediately apologized to him and felt terrible,” Mr. Lougee wrote. “I don’t condone racism of any kind, I take full responsibility for this mistake, and am truly sorry for the pain I caused Mr. Hoffman.”

Lougee said Tegna’s board and management has made diversity, equity and inclusion a corporate priority. The company said about 37% of its new hires last year were people of color and as of Dec. 31, 25% of its 6,427 employees were people of color. Tegna provided no further comment beyond Mr. Lougee’s email.