ATLANTA, GA: Turner Broadcasting's top communicator, Shirley Powell, plans to step down at the end of January after six years in the role. Powell told PRWeek she's departing due to “a combination of personal and professional reasons,” and because she wanted “to try something different.”
Powell has worked at Turner, which is part of Time Warner, for eight years. She began as the SVP of communications for the entertainment division of Turner, and took the top corporate communications post in 2003. She has not yet decided where she will go next.
Powell does not have a second in command but rather six direct reports. The company plans to commence a search for her replacement following the holidays, according to Misty Skedgell, VP of corporate communications and CSR at Turner. In the interim, the communications team will report up through Kelly Regal, EVP for the company.
Skedgell confirmed that Powell made the decision to depart the company.
In August, Powell told PRWeek, she believed she was at the mid-point of her career, and offered this advice: “You don't work for companies, but for people. You need to do as much homework about the person for whom you'll work as about the company.”
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