ATLANTA—Cox Enterprises President and CEO Jimmy W. Hayes will retire in April 2014. The company says current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer John M. Dyer will take over as chief operating officer beginning May 1, and upon Hayes’ retirement next year, will be named president and CEO.
Hayes has served as president and CEO since 2008, leading Cox Communications, Manheim, Cox Media Group and AutoTrader Group, in addition to heading financial operations, human resources and administration. After stepping down, the 33-year company veteran will remain on the company’s board of directors.
Douglas E. Franklin will replace Dyer as Cox Enterprises executive vice president and chief financial officer. Franklin served as president of Cox Media Group since 2011, and in that role, he led the company’s integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media initiatives. Beginning in May, Franklin will be responsible for the company’s treasury, financial reporting and control, as well as tax and audit functions, as well as public policy, supply chain services, information technology, risk management and legal.
Bill Hoffman, who currently serves as an executive vice president at Cox Media Group, will take over as president of Cox Media Group, taking the reins for the company’s radio and television operations and corporate revenue efforts.
Hoffman is a former vice president and general manager of WSB-TV in Atlanta. Hoffman began his tenure at Cox in 1979 as an account representative at TeleRep and has held a number of roles, including vice president and general manager of WFTV 9 in Orlando, local sales manager at WSB-TV, office manager at Atlanta’s TeleRep office and national sales manager at WPXI in Pittsburgh. He also served as local and national sales manager of WCCO in Minneapolis, Minn.
Cox Enterprises’ major subsidiaries include Cox Communications, Inc. (cable television distribution, telephone, high-speed Internet access, commercial telecom and advertising solutions); Manheim, Inc.; AutoTrader; and Cox Media Group, Inc. (television and radio stations, digital media, newspapers, advertising sales rep firms, Valpak and Cox Digital Solutions).
