On Tuesday, CNBC’s long-time executive and current Chairman Mark Hoffman announced that he will step down on Sept. 12.
CNBC is one of Comcast-owned (CMCSA.O) NBCUniversal’s (NBCU) most consistently growing assets, even as thousands of Americans drop linear cable TV subscriptions every year.
Hoffman has been CNBC’s president since 2005 and chairman since 2015. He is leaving of his own accord. During his tenure, he has increased the profitability and growth of CNBC in 16 of his 17 years running the company very efficiently.
“Mark has overseen the steady continued growth of CNBC as the world’s #1 business and money news brand,” Conde said.
KC Sullivan will replace Hoffman and begin on September 12. Hoffman will remain on as a consultant through the transition, Conde pointed out in a note to NBCUniversal employees.
Sullivan has served CNBC for the last two years as the president and managing director of NBCUniversal’s global advertising and partnerships, based in London. Before that, he was the president and managing director of CNBC International and CNBC’s chief financial officer.
Mark Hoffman’s CNBC Tenure
Mark Hoffman first joined CNBC in 1997. He became CNBC’s president in 2005 and immediately pushed to acquire 50% equity interests in CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia from Dow Jones, as well as a 25% stake in CNBC World.
He has expanded CNBC’s overall TV reach and digital growth through his efforts and financial control over its international properties. With a unique monthly readership growing from about 30 million to nearly 200 million, CNBC.com has grown sixfold in the past six years.
Hoffman has focused on steadiness on the cable network side, which still makes up the majority of CNBC’s revenue. He has renewed contracts for notable TV personalities including Becky Quick, Jim Cramer, David Faber, Carl Quintanilla, Joe Kernen,
and Andrew Ross Sorkin to maintain CNBC’s leadership as the most reliable source of news, especially for wealthier Americans.
“Once defined as a moribund domestic cable channel that many thought would never fully recover from the dotcom bubble bursting, CNBC is today a global multimedia powerhouse, punching far above its weight, in the digital age,” Hoffman said.
According to Ipsos surveys, CNBC TV has ranked #1 among all news agencies for 29 consecutive years in reaching Americans who make more than $125,000 a year.
