Vicaom chief executive Tom Freston has resigned from the company after falling out with the company’s chairman, Sumner Redstone over the battle to keep the company at the head of the digital revolution.
Redstone was apparently unhappy that Viacom had missed several opportunities to become major players in the online market, missing out on buying MySpace (which was purchased by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp).
Freston is probably best know for being the man behind the ‘I Want My MTV’ campaign, which helped the music channel become a global phenomenon.
Following Freston’s departure, Viacom shares have fallen from $44 to yesterday’s price of $35.
In a statement released yesterday naming Philippe Dauman as Viacom’s new president and chief executive officer, Redstone said: “I have great respect for Tom Freston and want to personally thank him for his tremendous contributions to Viacom over the past 20 years. Tom successfully built MTV Networks into an unmatched force in the entertainment industry and assembled a best-in-class operational team to build on that foundation.”
Thomas Dooley was also named as Viacom’s new senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer.
Freston stated: “I’ve spent over 26 years at Viacom, 18 of them with Sumner. With my exceptional colleagues, we built a worldwide powerhouse of brands and businesses, literally from scratch. I leave many good friends knowing that they have an unmatched track record, a great plan going forward and incredible abilities to execute on it in this digital age.
I have worked closely with Philippe Dauman and Tom Dooley over the years and have the highest respect for their abilities. I have every confidence that Viacom is well positioned to prosper under Philippe’s leadership. I will do all I can to insure a smooth transition. I particularly want to thank my colleagues from all over the company who have been inspiring to work with and have been so instrumental in the great success we’ve had.”
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