Ex-CNN Boss Gets A New Job
(PatriotWise.com) – Jeff Zucker, who formerly served as the chief executive officer of CNN, is now back in the media industry after being selected to head a sports-and-media investment firm.
RedBird Capital Partners, which will have a $1 billion joint venture with International Media Investments, will be led by Zucker. This joint venture will be based in Abu Dhabi. Zucker “will focus on building, buying, and investing in sports, media, and entertainment entities worldwide.
According to Zucker, “we are living in a time of tremendous change,” and a large part of that change is due to technology. “Another reason why this is such an exciting time is because of what lies ahead.”
RedBird and IMI have significant investments in various sports and media properties. RedBird owns a minority stake in Fenway Sports Group, which owns the Boston Red Sox and the Liverpool Football Club. In addition, RedBird has a stake in SpringHill Co., which is LeBron James’ entertainment company, and Skydance Media, an entertainment company that film producer David Ellison founded.
In the meantime, IMI owns all or a portion of many media companies in the United Arab Emirates, including a news organization that publishes in English called the National. In addition to that, it holds a minority stake in the European news channel known as Euronews.
Gerry Cardinale, founder and CEO of RedBird, was introduced to Mr. Zucker earlier this year by a mutual friend to discuss potential opportunities. They both attended Harvard University at the same time but claimed that they had never crossed paths with one another. During this time, Mr. Zucker was also having conversations with IMI, a private company owned by the United Arab Emirates, about potential opportunities for the two parties to collaborate.
IMI and CNN International Commercial merged to form what is now known as CNN Business Arabic during Zucker’s time as president of CNN.
At the beginning of this year, Zucker resigned from his position at CNN because he had failed to disclose a romantic relationship with an employee.
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