CNBC president and chairman Mark Hoffman to step down in September

Mark Hoffman

Mark Hoffman, the chairman and president of NBCUniversal-owned news broadcaster CNBC, has announced plans to step down in September. 

The executive became CNBC president in 2005 before ultimately taking over as chairman in 2015. Hoffmann oversaw the newscaster’s global expansion and transition to digital, while turning CNBC into one of NBCU’s most consistently growing assets. Notably during his tenure as president, Hoffman oversaw the acquisition of 50% equity interests in CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia from Dow Jones, and a 25% purchase of CNBC World.

Under his watch, CNBC’s TV reach has grown significantly and has ranked first among all business news platforms for 29 consecutive years for wealthy Americans, an Iposos survey has said. CNBC.com has grown sixfold in the past six years, with the site’s monthly visitors increasing from 30 million to 200 million. 

Hoffman will be replaced by KC Sullivan – foreigner finance chief and current president of NBCU’s global advertising partnerships based in London – on September 12. He will report to Cesar Conde, who was hired by NBCU in 2020 to oversee NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC.

Hoffman, 65, will stay on as a consultant through the transition, with CNBC saying that he is leaving the company of his own accord. 

Praising the outgoing executive, Conde said: “Mark has overseen the steady continued growth of CNBC as the world’s #1 business and money news brand. No business news organisation comes close to the reach and influence of CNBC, a true testament to Mark’s leadership.”

Hoffman said: “Once defined as a moribund domestic cable channel that many thought would never fully recover from the dotcom bubble bursting, CNBC is today a global multimedia powerhouse, punching far above its weight, in the digital age.”