Pursuits
Viacom's Board Names Dauman Chairman, Replacing Aging Redstone
- Board rejects Shari Redstone's call for someone independent
- Directors vote 10-1 Thursday in favor of CEO's appointment
Leslie Moonves Succeeds Sumner Redstone as Chairman
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Viacom Inc.’s board rebuffed Sumner Redstone’s daughter and named Philippe Dauman as chairman, marking an end to the family patriarch’s reign over the media company he’s controlled for almost 30 years.
Viacom, the owner of MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures, announced the decision Thursday. On a conference call, Redstone and the other directors voted 10-to-1 in Dauman’s favor, according to a person familiar with the matter, with Vice Chairman Shari Redstoneas the sole dissenter. The daughter of the company’s 92-year-old founder, a major investor in her own right, had on Wednesday called for an independent chairman in a letter to her fellow directors.