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John Malone’s Liberty Media Corp. has named Derak Chang president and chief executive effective Feb. 1.
A director of Liberty since 2021, Chang is a veteran executive who has led operating, corporate development and investment teams at prominent companies during various stages of growth including EverPass Media, the NBA, DirecTV, Scripps, Charter and TCI.
He replaces longtime Liberty CEO Greg Maffei, who announced his departure in November.
“I am thrilled to welcome Derek as the CEO of Liberty Media. His expertise in both operating and investment roles, extensive understanding of our industries and familiarity with Liberty make him the ideal leader for Liberty’s next chapter,” said Malone, Liberty Media chairman. “Personally, I have worked with Derek for over 25 years and am consistently impressed by his leadership style, breadth of expertise and global perspective. I look forward to supporting him and the Liberty management team as they continue to drive shareholder value.”
“I have had the privilege of working with John Malone and the Liberty team for many years … and I have long admired their track record of value creation for investors and partners,” Chang said. “Our current focus is clear: optimizing the portfolio structure with the split-off of Liberty Live and supporting the growth of our attractive operating assets, including F1 and MotoGP post-acquisition, to continue their momentum and invest for the future. Looking further, Liberty has always been long-term minded in its investment mandate yet nimble to move quickly on new opportunities. Both of these things will remain true in our strategy going forward.”
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Malone will serve as interim CEO until Chang starts. The new CEO will join the Executive Committee of the Liberty Media Board with John Malone, Vice Chairman Dob Bennett and Chase Carey. Additionally, Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, will report to a committee of the Liberty Media board comprised of Bennett, Carey and Chang.
Most recently, Chang was the Executive Chairman of EverPass Media, a joint venture he cofounded with Alex Kaplan in partnership with the NFL and RedBird Capital Partners, with a later investment from TKO, to create a new platform for the distribution of premium sports content into commercial establishments. He’ll be stepping down from that role but remain on the board of EverPass.
Chang previously was CEO of NBA China from 2018 to 2020 where he spearheaded the NBA’s effort to expand its presence as the preeminent foreign sports league in the region while leading a staff of 200 based in the NBA’s Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and Hong Kong offices.
Before that, he held various leadership roles at Scripps Network Interactive from 2013 to 2018, including Head of International Lifestyle Channels based first in Singapore and then London. Prior to Scripps, Chang spent 7 years at DirecTV and served as EVP Content Strategy and Development where he oversaw all content acquisition and production. Chang was at Charter Communications from 2003 to 2005 as EVP Finance & Strategy and Interim Co-CFO, acting as the primary contact for Wall Street and managing all balance sheet, M&A and corporate strategic activities. He has also held senior executive positions with the YES Network and TCI Communications.
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