NPR Taps Paul Haaga Jr. As Acting Pres./CEO, Plans 10% Layoffs Through Voluntary Buyout

Haaga

NPR has tapped board Vice Chair and Finance Committee Chair PAUL G. HAAGA, JR. as Acting President & CEO, taking over for exiting Pres./CEO GARY E. KNELL, who is leaving to join NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY as Pres./CEO.  HAAGA is the retired chairman of the board of CAPITAL RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT CO., former chairman of the INVESTMENT COMPANY INSTITUTE, and former partner at DECHERT PRICE & RHOADS, as well as a senior attorney for the SEC.  The board also approved a budget for 2014 that includes layoffs of 10% of the staff on a voluntary buyout basis.

“PAUL has made many valuable contributions to NPR during his tenure on the Board,” said Board Chair KIT JENSEN of IDEASTREAM PBS affiliate WVIZ-TV-noncommercial WCPN/CLEVELAND.  “His intimate knowledge of our organization, his unwavering commitment to the highest quality of journalism and programming, and his financial acumen make him particularly well-suited to lead NPR as we begin our search for a permanent chief executive.”
 
HAAGA called his tenure on the NPR board “one of the most rewarding and exciting phases of my career” and added, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead one of the world’s leading providers of news, music and cultural programming on an interim basis and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Board and senior leadership team to help this great organization build on its success.”
 
The NPR board also approved a budget for fiscal year 2014 and a plan to achieve a balanced budget over the next two years. The budget assumes revenues of $178.1 million, expenses of $183 million, and an operating cash deficit of $6.1 million, (3% of revenues).  The voluntary buyout plan to cut the staff across the board by 10% is included in the budget.

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