December 26, 2024 @ 2:45 PM
Richard “Dick” Parsons, a previous Time Warner CEO who was likewise critical in conserving New York’s Apollo Theater, passed away Thursday in Manhattan. He was 76.
His cause of death was bone cancer, his buddy Ronald S. Lauder informed the New York Times.
“All of us at Warner Bros. Discovery suffered a horrible loss today,” existing WBD CEO David Zaslav informed TheWrap in a declaration, remembering that he initially satisfied Parsons 30 years earlier at NBC and remembering him as “an excellent individual, a terrific good friend and a terrific leader.”
“All who got an opportunity to deal with him and understand him saw that uncommon mix of terrific management with stability and compassion,” Zaslav continued. “Dick played both a massive function in developing Time Warner however was likewise among the terrific issue solvers this market has actually ever seen. It’s why so people lots of admired him and sought his smart suggestions.”
Parsons was born April 4, 1948, in Brooklyn, and finished from Albany Law School at the top of his class. He went on to work for New York guv, and ultimate vice president, Nelson Rockefeller. That essential connection resulted in him being called to the board of Time Warner, ending up being president of the business in 1995.
Sometimes Warner, he worked to lower the huge financial obligation developed by the merger with AOL by selling residential or commercial properties, consisting of the Atlanta Hawks and Warner Music Group. He likewise chose to get rid of “AOL” from the business’s name post-merger. He stepped down as CEO in 2007, resigning as chairman the list below year.
Parsons went on to recommend New York guv Eliot Spitzer, previous New York mayors Michael Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani, along with President Barack Obama. From 2009 to 2012, he functioned as chairman of Citigroup and ended up being interim CEO of the Los Angeles Clippers in 2014.
Parsons briefly worked as the interim chairman of CBS Corp. in 2018, following Leslie Moonves’ departure due to sexual misbehavior claims. Parsons’ fight with several myeloma required him to step down at the time due to “unexpected issues” of the illness.
The executive likewise led the conservation of Harlem’s Apollo Theater in the 1990s, arranging a fundraising project to conserve the historical place. “Without Dick, there would be no Apollo as we understand it today,” Jonelle Procope, president and CEO of the theatre, informed the Times in 2020.
Parsons is endured by 3 kids: Gregory, Leslie and Rebecca.
