Inside E!’s Latest Exit: Cyndi McClellan Steps Down as Network Strategy and News Chief

The 12-year company veteran announced her departure on Monday

Cyndi McClellan, President, Network Strategy & E! News, E! Entertainment (E! Entertainment)

In an expected move, E! president of network strategy and news Cyndi McClellan announced on Monday that she’s leaving the company. The company’s 12-year-veteran’s successor has yet to be named.

In a statement to press, an E! spokesperson said McClellan was “an integral part of E!’s growth” and that her talent would be “greatly missed.”

See photos: The Scene at TheWrap’s Power Women Breakfast 2014

Read the full statement below:

“Cyndi has been an integral part of E!’s growth to become the No. 1 entertainment news brand for over 12 years, and she will be greatly missed for her talent, leadership and friendship. Having led three different divisions throughout her tenure, Cyndi has touched all of us here with her consummate professionalism, creativity and strategic vision. Whatever she undertakes next, we¹ll all be watching and cheering her on.”

As TheWrap previously reported, Suzanne Kolb’s departure in September and NBUniversal’s subsequent decision to replace her with Frances Berwick and Adam Stotsky as president and general manager, respectively, represented the second time McClellan had been passed over for the top job.

The first time McClellan was passed over was in the handoff from Ted Harbert to Kolb in 2011. Individuals inside E! told TheWrap that it was expected that the news chief would leave before the end of the year.

Also read: 13 of Suzanne Kolb’s E! Hits and Misses

McClellan oversaw the news division and all news information programming for E!’s linear network, including “E! News,” “Live From E!,” “Beyond Candid With Giuliana Rancic,” “Untold With Maria Menounos,” “True Hollywood Story,” and other E! specials. She also led all strategic planning, research, acquisitions and scheduling for the network.

Previously, she served as executive vice president of research and program strategy for the Comcast Entertainment Group, and played an integral role in driving ratings growth for E!, Style and G4 by evaluating current programming and new program opportunities.

Joining the company in 2002 as vice president, research, McClellan oversaw the network’s acquisition of the “Sex and the City” series and helped build E!’s “Movies We Love” franchise with key film acquisitions.

Also read: Diane von Furstenberg’s E! Reality Show Stages Fashion-Forward Statue of Liberty Stunt

McClellan began her career at Twentieth Television and worked at Frank Magid Associates before joining E!.

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