Time Warner Re-Ups CEO Jeff Bewkes

20 Nov, 2012 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Executive has aggressively impacted home entertainment

Time Warner Nov. 20 said it signed a new employment contract with Jeff Bewkes to remain chairman and CEO of the media conglomerate through 2017.

Under the terms of the new agreement, Bewkes' $2 million base salary and $10 million bonus target will remain unchanged. Additionally, the agreement provides for annual long-term incentive awards that are tied directly, and solely, to future financial and shareholder returns.

Bewkes earned $25.9 million in total compensation in 2011.

Since assuming the CEO position at Time Warner in 2008, Bewkes has initiated significant change at Warner Bros., including shuttering New Line Cinema, offering street date availability of new releases on transactional VOD; acquiring Flixster.com to spearhead the UltraViolet cloud-based industry initiative; launching the TV Everywhere platform and HBO Go; imposing street date embargoes to Redbox and Netflix for new-release discs; and engaging Netflix in protracted public debates on the economic viability of subscription VOD services to content holders, among other issues.

"Jeff is a proven visionary when it comes to navigating the digital landscape,” Stephen Bollenbach, lead independent director of Time Warner’s board of directors, said in a statement. “Since becoming CEO in 2008 he has led the transformation of the company into a content-focused powerhouse, while at the same time significantly increasing shareholder value.”

Prior to being named chairman and CEO in 2009, Bewkes was president and CEO in 2008, president and COO from January 2006 to December 2007, and chairman of the entertainment and networks group from July 2002 to December 2005.

Before joining the corporate management at Time Warner, Bewkes served as chairman and CEO of HBO from May 1995 to July 2002, and  president and COO of HBO from September 1991 to May 1995. He is a graduate of Yale University.

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