Derek Chang named new president and CEO of Liberty Media
Formula 1 owner Liberty Media has named Derek Chang as its new president and chief executive.
This seasoned executive, who has held a director position at Liberty since 2021, will take office on February 1, 2025. Until this date, John Malone, president of Liberty Media, will continue to act as interim CEO.
Greg Maffei, Liberty’s previous CEO, stepped down at the end of 2024 after 19 years with the company. He oversaw the evolution of Liberty’s portfolio, including the $4.6 billion acquisition of Formula 1 in 2017.
Since then, Liberty has significantly boosted the series’ global appeal, as full-year financial results show, revealing revenues of $3.2 billion for 2023, up 25% from last year. previous year.
Chang will join the executive committee of Liberty Media’s board of directors, comprised of John Malone, Dob Bennett and Chase Carey. Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula 1, will report to the three-member committee which includes Chang, Carey and Bennett.
“I am delighted to welcome Derek as CEO of Liberty Media,” said Malone. “His expertise in operational and investment roles, his deep knowledge of our industries and his familiarity with Liberty make him the ideal leader for Liberty’s next chapter.” »
“Personally, I have worked with Derek for over 25 years and am always impressed by his leadership style, diversity of expertise and global perspective. I look forward to supporting him and the Liberty management team as they continue to drive shareholder value.” »
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Chang added, “I had the privilege of working with John Malone and the Liberty team for many years, including during my time at TCI and DirecTV, and later as a board member at Starz and Liberty. I have long admired their ability to create value for investors and partners. »
“Our current focus is clear: to optimize the portfolio structure with the demerger of Liberty Live and support the growth of our attractive operating assets, including Formula 1 and MotoGP, following their acquisition, in order to continue their momentum and invest for the future. »
“Looking to the future, Liberty has always thought long-term in its investment mandate, while being agile to jump quickly on new opportunities. Both of these aspects will remain true in our future strategy. »
Chang’s first big challenge will be managing the company’s prospective acquisition of MotoGP, currently under investigation by the European Union’s antitrust department. New antitrust chief Teresa Ribera is apparently concerned that the acquisition could harm competition in the broadcast and streaming markets.
Most recently, Chang was Executive Chairman of EverPass Media, a venture he co-founded with Alex Kaplan in partnership with the National Football League (NFL) and RedBird Capital Partners to create a new platform for distributing premium sports content to retail locations. .
Previously, he served as CEO of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in China from 2018 to 2020, where he led the NBA’s efforts to strengthen its presence as a leading foreign sports league in the region.
