September
05, 2006
For
Immediate Release:
Viacom
Names Philippe Dauman President and CEO,
Succeeding Tom Freston
Thomas
Dooley Named Senior Executive Vice President
and Chief Administrative Officer
NEW YORK-- Sept.
5, 2006--Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA - News and VIA.B - News) announced today
that its Board of Directors has appointed Philippe P. Dauman, 52, President
and Chief Executive Officer. The Board also named Thomas E. Dooley,
49, to the newly created position of Senior Executive Vice President
and Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Dauman succeeds Tom Freston, 60,
who has resigned his positions with the Company.
Messrs. Dauman and
Dooley, who are currently members of the Viacom Board of Directors,
previously served in a number of senior executive positions at Viacom,
including as Deputy Chairmen from 1996 to 2000. Mr. Dauman will report
to Sumner M. Redstone, Viacom's Executive Chairman and Founder, and
to the Board of Directors of Viacom. Mr. Dooley will report to Mr. Dauman.
Messrs. Dauman and
Dooley have worked closely with Mr. Redstone and with each other for
more than 20 years. Since 2000, they have been Co-Chairmen and Chief
Executive Officers of DND Capital Partners, L.L.C., a private equity
firm specializing in media and telecommunication investments. Mr. Dauman,
who has been a Director of Viacom since 1987, served from 1994 to 2000
as a member of Viacom's Executive Committee and as Executive Vice President
in charge of strategic transactions, legal and government affairs, human
resources and administration, with supervisory responsibility for Paramount
Entertainment, Showtime Networks and Simon & Schuster. From 1993
to 1998, he also was General Counsel of Viacom.
Mr. Dooley held
various corporate positions at Viacom from 1980 to 2000, including member
of the Executive Committee and Executive Vice President, Finance, Corporate
Development and Communications. He served as a member of the Viacom
Board from 1996 to 2000 and rejoined the Board in 2006.
Sumner M. Redstone
stated: "Viacom has tremendous potential to grow aggressively,
both domestically and internationally. We have extremely strong and
unique entertainment brands that resonate with audiences through all
distribution platforms and a significant presence in worldwide motion
picture production and distribution through our Paramount studio. I
have worked closely with Philippe Dauman for many years, and I have
a comfort level with him and high regard for his leadership abilities,
strong financial and operational skills, and superb judgment. The entire
Viacom Board and I are confident he has the strategic and creative vision
to take the Company forward and the drive and energy to execute relentlessly
on our strategy.
"I am also
very pleased that Tom Dooley, who has worked very closely with Philippe
and me over the years, has agreed to join us and bring his broad experience
and considerable skills to bear in our efforts to accelerate Viacom's
profitable growth in a rapidly evolving media environment. I could not
be more pleased to be teaming up again with Philippe and Tom, who are
two of the most extraordinary executives I have ever known and with
whom I shared the most productive and successful period in Viacom's
history."
Mr. Redstone continued,
"I have great respect for Tom Freston and want to personally thank
him for his tremendous contributions to Viacom over the past 20 years.
Tom successfully built MTV Networks into an unmatched force in the entertainment
industry and assembled a best-in-class operational team to build on
that foundation. Tom has been a friend and a colleague for many years
and we wish him well as he moves on to the next stage of his career."
Philippe Dauman
stated: "I have been deeply involved with Viacom for most of my
professional life and, like Sumner, I have a great passion for this
company. Viacom, its exceptional people and its great brands have an
intimate connection with the audience that is defining the digital revolution,
which gives the Company enormous advantages and further potential. I
intend to provide leadership, energy, and a focus on both creative and
operational excellence as we work to execute on our strategy to drive
Viacom's transformation into the digital media company of the future.
I am also delighted that Tom Dooley, whom I have worked with for so
long, has agreed to partner with me. He has strong financial, business,
and people skills, and an association with Viacom that spans more than
25 years. I see this as the next chapter in a long-running and successful
partnership at Viacom."
Tom Freston stated:
"I've spent over 26 years at Viacom, 18 of them with Sumner. With
my exceptional colleagues, we built a worldwide powerhouse of brands
and businesses, literally from scratch. I leave many good friends knowing
that they have an unmatched track record, a great plan going forward
and incredible abilities to execute on it in this digital age. I have
worked closely with Philippe Dauman and Tom Dooley over the years and
have the highest respect for their abilities. I have every confidence
that Viacom is well positioned to prosper under Philippe's leadership.
I will do all I can to insure a smooth transition. I particularly want
to thank my colleagues from all over the company who have been inspiring
to work with and have been so instrumental in the great success we've
had."
Conference Call
Viacom will hold
a conference call and webcast at 9:00 a.m. ET today to discuss this
announcement. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-866-710-0179
from the United States and 1-334-323-7224 from outside of the United
States, no later than 8:50 a.m. ET. The conference identification is
VIACOM. The call will also be available via live webcast at www.investorcalendar.com.
Webcast participants should allot extra time before the webcast begins
to register. The call will be rebroadcast from September 5, 2006 at
11:00 a.m. ET to October 5, 2006. To access the rebroadcast from the
United States please dial 1-877-656-8905 and 1-334-323-4808 from outside
of the United States and use password VIACOM. The archived webcast will
also be available at www.viacom.com for 30 days.
About Viacom
Viacom is one of
the leading global entertainment content companies, with prominent and
respected brands in focused demographics. Offering programming and content
for television, motion pictures and digital platforms, Viacom's world-class
brands include MTV Networks (MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Comedy
Central, CMT: Country Music Television, Spike TV, TV Land, Logo and
more than 120 networks around the world), BET Networks, Paramount Pictures,
Paramount Home Entertainment, DreamWorks and Famous Music. More information
about Viacom and its businesses is available at www.viacom.com.
Cautionary Statement
Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This news release
contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements
which are not statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to
be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of
the Securities Act of 1933 and section 21E of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical
facts, but rather reflect the Company's current expectations concerning
future results and events. Similarly, statements that describe the Company's
objectives, plans or goals are or may be forward-looking statements.
These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that are difficult to predict and which may cause
the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be
different from any future results, performance and achievements expressed
or implied by these statements. These risks include among other risks,
the factors described in the Company's news releases and filings with
the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to
the Company's 2005 Annual Report as filed on Form 10-K on March 16,
2006 and the quarterly report as filed on Form 10-Q for the period ended
June 30, 2006. The forward-looking statements included in this document
are made only as of the date of this document, and, under section 27A
of the Securities Act and section 21E of the Exchange Act, the Company
does not have any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
#####