Richard Parsons, the prominent black executive who led Time Warner and Citigroup, dies at 76

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Parsons, one of the most prominent black executives in corporate America who held top positions at Time Warner and Citigroup, died Thursday. He is 76 years old.

Parsons, who died at his home in Manhattan in 2015, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and reduced his work several years later, citing “unexpected complications” from the disease.

Parsons was a longtime board member of Lazard Financial Services, which confirmed Parsons’ death.

David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, Time Warner’s successor, recalled Parsons as a “great mentor and friend” and “a tough and brilliant negotiator who always Seek to create win-win solutions.”

“Everyone who had the opportunity to work with and know him saw an unusual combination of great leadership with integrity and kindness,” Zaslav said, calling him “one of the greatest problem solvers this industry has ever produced.” .

Parsons’ friend Ronald Lauder told the New York Times that the cause of Parsons’ death was cancer. Parsons resigned from the board of directors of Estée Lauder, a company owned by Lazard and Lauder, on December 3, citing health reasons. He has served on the Estée Lauder Board of Directors for 25 years.

Parsons, a Brooklyn native who started college at 16, was named chairman of Citigroup a month after leaving Time Warner in 2009, where he helped help the company after it was acquired by internet provider AOL. The company’s reputation was restored.

He led Citigroup’s turnaround as the financial turmoil caused by the subprime mortgage crisis in 2007 and 2008 upended the economy.

Parsons was appointed to the CBS board of directors in September 2018 but resigned a month later due to illness.

Parsons said in a statement at the time that he was already dealing with multiple myeloma when he joined the board, but “unexpected complications created additional new challenges.” He said his doctors recommended he reduce Commitment to ensure recovery.

“Dick’s storied career exemplified the best traditions of American business leadership,” Lazard said in a statement. Parsons has been on the company’s board of directors since 2012, and the company praised his “unquestionable intelligence and irresistible enthusiasm.”

“Dick is more than just an iconic leader in Lazard’s history, he demonstrated that intelligence, passion and sound judgment can shape not just a company but people’s lives,” the company said. “His legacy Lives on in the countless leaders he consulted, the institutions he renewed, and the doors he opened for others.”

Parsons is considered a skilled negotiator, diplomat and crisis manager.

Although he survived AOL’s troubles at Time Warner, he earned respect for the company and rebuilt its relationship with Wall Street. He streamlined Time Warner’s structure, cut debt and sold the Warner Music Group and book publishing divisions.

He also fended off a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn to break up the company in 2006 and helped Time Warner settle with investors and regulators over AOL’s questionable accounting practices.

Parsons joined Time Warner as president in 1995 after serving as chairman and chief executive of Dime Bancorp Inc., one of the largest thrifts in the United States.

In 2001, AOL used its wealth as the nation’s leading Internet access provider to acquire Time Warner for $106 billion in stock, and Parsons became co-chief operating officer along with AOL executive Robert Pittman. In this role, he was responsible for the company’s content operations, including film studios and recorded music.

He became CEO in 2002, following the retirement of Gerald Levin, one of the key architects of the merger. The following year, Parsons was named chairman of Time Warner, replacing AOL founder Steve Case, who also supported the merger.

The newly formed company’s Internet division quickly became a liability for Time Warner. The promised synergies between traditional and new media never materialized. In 2002, AOL’s subscriber base began to dwindle as Americans replaced dial-up connections with cable TV and phone company broadband.

Parsons resigned as CEO in 2007 and as chairman in 2008. , AOL has spent years trying to reinvent itself as a business focused on advertising and content. Time Warner is now owned by AT&T.

Parsons has been a board member of Citigroup and its predecessor Citibank since 1996 and was named chairman in 2009 as the financial institution was in turmoil. Citigroup has posted five consecutive quarters of losses and received $45 billion in government aid. Its board has been criticized for allowing the bank to make such large investments in the risky real estate market.

Under Parsons, Citigroup began returning to profitability in 2010 and did not post another quarterly loss until the fourth quarter of 2017.

In 2014, he served as interim CEO of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers until Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took over later that year.

“Dick Parsons was a talented, transformational leader and a giant in the media industry who led with integrity and never shied away from a challenge,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.

Parsons, a Republican, previously served as counsel in the White Houses of former Republican New York governors Nelson Rockefeller and Gerald Ford. Those early experiences gave him the foundation for politics and negotiation. He was also an economic adviser to President Barack Obama’s transition team.

Parsons’ love of jazz led him to co-own the Harlem Jazz Club, and he also served as president of the Apollo Theater and the American Jazz Foundation. He has also served on the boards of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Parsons played basketball at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and earned a law degree from Albany Law School in 1971.

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This obituary was primarily written by the late AP reporter Anick Jesdanun, who died in 2020.