MUMBAI: MTV Networks International chairman and CEO and MTV Networks vice chairman Bill Rodey will be parting ways with the company by the end of 2010.
In an internal staff memo, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman broke the news to employees. "Every day, throughout our organization, Viacom employees work hard to push all types of boundaries — strategically, operationally and creatively – seeking out new business frontiers and building innovative audience connections. In our long global history, no person has embodied this spirit of bold pioneering and boundary busting more than our legendary colleague and long-time friend, Bill Roedy. As chairman and CEO of MTV Networks International and vice chairman of MTV Networks, Bill has crisscrossed the planet, planting our flag on nearly every continent and spreading the gospel of quality, audience-first programming from Beijing, to Bangalore, to Buenos Aires and everywhere in between," Dauman said.
MTVI president Bob Bakish will run the operation from the States post Rodey’s departure.
Dauman added, "He has established the most well respected and most popular stable of international television channels in the universe and has built a world-class management team led by MTVN International president Bob Bakish. Today, I am writing you about a new chapter in Bill’s extraordinary career. After 22 years, Bill has decided to step down from the non-stop globetrotting and audience building and leave Viacom at the end of 2010."
Bill’s global mission required his innate respect for diverse traditions, and a creative sensibility that speaks every language and builds bridges around the world. That mission also required Bill – on occasion – to brandish the steel will honed as a combat-decorated officer in Vietnam and go toe-to-toe with repressive government officials or entrenched competitors who were challenged by the revolutionary impact of our programming.
"Rodey leaves an indelible mark on Viacom, MTV Networks and all of those who have worked with him. He embodies the wonderful contradictions that are so critical to our success – he’s a tenacious business leader who is personally generous. He is an advocate for human rights but also an open-minded student of unfamiliar cultures. And he is a man trained to fight communism who spent decades deploying entertainment, children’s programming and health education in countries like Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and throughout Africa," said Dauman.
