Rupert Murdoch is to step down as chairman of Fox and News Corp. in mid-November when he will be appointed as chairman emeritus of each company.
His son Lachlan Murdoch will become sole chair of News Corp and continue as executive chair and CEO of Fox Corporation.
In a September 21 statement, Lachlan Murdoch moved to congratulate his father on his 70-year career. “We thank him for his vision, his pioneering spirit, his steadfast determination, and the enduring legacy he leaves to the companies he founded and countless people he has impacted. We are grateful that he will serve as Chairman Emeritus and know he will continue to provide valued counsel to both companies.”
Announcing news of the planned transition to employees on Thursday, Rupert Murdoch said he has been engaged daily with news and ideas, and vowed that that will not change. “Our companies are in robust health, as am I. Our opportunities far exceed our commercial challenges. We have every reason to be optimistic about the coming years,” the letter, seen by DMI, reads.
Murdoch was executive chairman of 21st Century Fox from 2015 to the closing of the merger of 21st Century Fox and The Walt Disney Company in March 2019.
He served as CEO of 21st Century Fox from its inception as News Corporation in 1979 until 2015 and as its chairman from 1991 to 2015.