- Chang will start new role on 1st February
- F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali will report into three-man executive board committee comprising Chang, Chase Carey and Dob Bennett
Formula One owner Liberty Media has appointed Derek Chang as its new president and chief executive.
The veteran executive, who has served as a director at Liberty since 2021, will start his new role on 1st February 2025. Liberty Media chairman John Malone will continue to serve as interim chief executive until that time.
Liberty’s previous chief executive Greg Maffei stepped down at the end of 2024 after 19 years at the media company. He oversaw an evolution of Liberty’s portfolio that included the US$4.6 billion acquisition of Formula One in 2017.
Since then, Liberty has rapidly expanded the series’ global appeal, with the most recent full-year financial results showing revenues of US$3.2 billion for 2023, a 25 per cent year-over-year (YoY) increase.
Chang will join the executive committee of the Liberty Media board, comprising John Malone, Dob Bennett and Chase Carey. Stefano Domenicali, president and chief executive of Formula One, will report into a three-man executive board committee comprising Chang, Carey and Bennett.
“I am thrilled to welcome Derek as the CEO of Liberty Media,” said Malone. “His expertise in both operating and investment roles, extensive understanding of our industries and 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 consistently impressed by his leadership style, breadth 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 have had the privilege of working with John Malone and the Liberty team for many years during my time at TCI and DirecTV and later as a board member of Starz and Liberty, and I have long admired their track record of value creation for investors and partners.
“Our current focus is clear: optimising the portfolio structure with the split-off of Liberty Live and supporting the growth of our attractive operating assets, including F1 and MotoGP post-acquisition, to continue their momentum and invest for the future.
“Looking further, Liberty has always been long-term minded in its investment mandate yet nimble to move quickly on new opportunities. Both of these things will remain true in our strategy going forward.”
Chang’s first major hurdle will be navigating the company’s prospective takeover of MotoGP, which is currently under investigation by the European Union’s (EU) antitrust department. The EU’s new antitrust chief Teresa Ribera is reportedly concerned the acquisition could hamper competition in broadcasting and streaming markets.
Most recently, Chang was the 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 the distribution of premium sports content into commercial establishments.
Prior to this, he was the chief executive of National Basketball Association (NBA) China from 2018 to 2020 where he spearheaded the NBA’s effort to expand its presence as the preeminent foreign sports league in the region.
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