Athan Stephanopoulos is leaving as CNN’s chief digital officer

Athan Stephanopoulos is stepping down as CNN’s executive vice president and chief digital officer as CEO Mark Thompson focuses on a new structure for the network.

Stephanopoulos joined the network in the fall of 2022 under then-CEO Chris Licht.

In a statement to employees, Stephanopoulos said, “In my conversations with Mark since his arrival, we have agreed on many things, most notably that innovative, high-quality digital news services are becoming increasingly important to CNN’s future success.” But it also became clear. that Mark had his own vision of how he wanted to organize digital business operations. To give him the greatest possible freedom to structure and shape the organization in the future, I believe it was the best time for me to step down from my role and start a new chapter.”

Thompson said Stephanopoulos will remain with the station through the end of the month during a transition period. CNN’s CEO, who started last fall, plans to soon outline his vision for the network and his plans for structuring the organization.

Thompson’s full memo is below:

January 3, 2024

Dear guests –

I want to share news with you today: Athan Stephanopoulos has decided to step down as EVP and Chief Digital Officer of CNN.

Since his arrival, Athan has been a strong and capable leader of our digital team and a collaborative colleague across the company. I know that everyone who worked with him at CNN will thank him for all he has done for us and wish him the best in his next chapter.

Athan wanted to say: “In my discussions with Mark since his arrival, we agreed on many things, most notably that innovative, high-quality digital news services would become increasingly important to CNN’s future success. But it also became clear that Mark had his own vision of how he wanted to organize digital business operations. In order to give him the greatest possible freedom to structure and shape the organization in the future, I felt it was the best time for me to step down from my role and start a new chapter. I sincerely wish CNN and each of you the best of luck.”

While we transition, Athan will continue until the end of the month. I want to thank him again for his hard work and dedication to CNN.

mark