Sirius XM CEO to Step Down in February

share on:

SiriusXM CEO Mel Karmazin said he will leave the satellite radio company on February 1, 2013, after his current contract expires.

Mel Karmazin
SiriusXM CEO Mel Karmazin steps down

Karmazin will also leave the SiriusXM Board of Directors at that time, announced the company late Tuesday.

Karmazin said, “SiriusXM is an extraordinary company with an incredible team.  It is an honor to come to work here every day where we truly deliver the best radio on radio.  I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished.”

He added, “SiriusXM has a strong foundation to build on for the future and there is a great team in place to keep the company moving forward.  I am confident that SiriusXM’s best years are ahead.”

The SiriusXM Board of Directors has formed a search committee to find a new CEO.  The Board will consider both internal and external candidates.

Karmazin informed the SiriusXM Board of his decision as billionaire John Malone, Chairman of Liberty Media is taking steps to take over SiriusXM.

Karmazin became Sirius CEO in 2004, when the company was struggling to compete with XM Satellite Radio. At the time it had only 700,000 subscribers.  Radio personality Howard Stern followed Karmazin to Sirius and subscriber rates soared.

Karmazin then led Sirius and XM through a complex merger that took 17 months to win government approval and which left the satellite radio company with heavy debt.  Liberty Media loaned SiriusXM $530 million and won 40 percent of SiriusXM stock, a stake that has since grown to almost 50 percent.

Liberty has also asked the Federal Communications Commission to approve it as the owner of SiriusXM once it acquires more than a 50 percent stake.

Karmazin hinted in September that he would leave the company if Liberty took it over.

Malone said he regretted Karmazin’s decision and praised his leadership, noting he had done a “tremendous job” at SiriusXM, reported the LA Times.

Source: SiriusXM, LA Times

Want to receive industry news? Sign up here
share on: