Former Fox Exec Takes Over Time, Inc

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Rich Battista

Rich Battista

In a surprise move, Time CEO Joe Ripp announced he was stepping down. Just as quickly, Time named Rich Battista as its new President and CEO, effective immediately.

Battista joined Time in 2015 as president of brands. Previously, he was an executive at Fox, running their cable networks (Speed, NatGeo, FX, etc).

Ripp has a contract until 2018 and will become executive chairman of the board. He'll continue to collect his annual salary of $1.42M in addition to other compensation for a total of $5.7M.

The New York Post reported that Ripp underwent a medical procedure last month, which he says has accelerated his departure.