Rupert Murdoch Resigns As Fox CEO, James Murdoch Named Successor

(RTTNews) - 21st Century Fox Inc (FOX, FOXA) on Tuesday said Rupert Murdoch has resigned as chief executive officer of the company, effective July 1. He would be succeeded by his son James Murdoch, currently the company's co-chief operating officer, Fox said.

Rupert Murdoch, who also is the chairman of the company, together with Lachlan Murdoch, currently co-chairman, will become executive co-chairmen, Fox said.

Also as part of the management reshuffle, Chase Carey, the company's deputy chairman, president and COO since 2009, will become the executive vice chairman and serve in that role through June 30, 2016.

In conjunction with these changes, the company's corporate functions, and its global television and film operations will now jointly report to Lachlan and James Murdoch.

The exit of Rupert Murdoch as CEO was somewhat expected as media reports recently indicated that such a move was in the offing.

21st Century Fox is an entertainment media company formed after splitting the entertainment and media properties from News Corp in 2013. The company primarily focuses on the film and television industry.

Its holdings include the Fox Entertainment Group—owners of the 20th Century Fox film studio and Fox television network, pan-Asian pay channel operator STAR TV, and a stake in European pay TV company Sky plc.