NBC News Group President Andy Lack is stepping down, NBC announced Monday in a statement about a wide-ranging restructuring within the company.
He is transitioning out of the company at the end of the month.
NBC News president Noah Oppenheim, MSNBC president Phil Griffin and CNBC chairman Mark Hoffman will now report to Cesar Conde. The company’s news networks will be organized into a single unit and led by Conde, who assumes the new role of NBCUniversal News Group chairman. Conde comes from Telemundo.
The news came at the same time it was announced Mark Lazarus will assume oversight of all of NBCUniversal’s entertainment TV operations as part of the same massive company-wide restructuring.
Said NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell of Conde, “Cesar is a well-respected, strategic leader who has succeeded in multiple roles at NBCUniversal since joining the company in 2013. Most recently, Cesar has overseen unprecedented growth at Telemundo, which under his leadership has become the number one Spanish-language network, and through its news division has played a critical role in the expansion of news operations, breaking news coverage and trailblazing political reporting. Cesar’s valuable and relevant experience leading broadcast networks and news divisions, combined with his high degree of integrity and proven management skills, make him the right person to lead our news group into the future.”
Conde and Lazarus will report directly to Shell.
The decision for Lack to step down came after a tumultuous few months for the executive. In October 2019, critics from across the media landscape called for Oppenheim and Lack to both be independently investigated over accusations that they muzzled Ronan Farrow’s story on accusations against Harvey Weinstein, while failing to address misconduct by their own employee, Matt Lauer.