Lachlan Murdoch Charts Entrepreneurial Future For Fox With All Employees As Shareholders
A day into slimmed-down Fox’s life as an independent public company, chairman and CEO Lachlan Murdoch addressed Fox Corp.’s 7,500 employees at a town hall meeting held at the Zanuck Theatre on the Fox lot in Los Angeles and available via webcast to employees in New York and at Fox stations around the country.
Following three-minute sizzle reel, which traced Fox’s evolution from its early days to its current hits, Murdoch spoke for about 10 minutes, acknowledging that the last year and a half has been tough for everyone and thanking everyone for their patience. He also thanked his dad, Rupert Murdoch, before focusing his attention on the future.
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He talked about building e a better company going forward using the existing strong brands and assets and applying startup and entrepreneurial mentality. Among the assets highlighted were the Fox broadcast network with the NFL, shows like Empire, 9-1-1, The Masked Singer, Last Man Standing and the formidable animated lineup, as well as Fox News as the most watched cable news network.
A big part of Lachlan Murdoch’s speech was about empowering Fox employees to be involved from Day 1. He called on everyone to re-imagine Fox from the ground up. To get staffers invested and to show that the company relies on each of them, Lachlan Murdoch revealed he is discussing with the board giving all employees shares in Fox ranging from $1,000-$3,000 depending on how long they had been with the company. That would make everyone working at Fox an owner of the company.
Charlie Collier, who runs the Fox broadcast network as CEO of Fox Entertainment, was not present as he is traveling, but he was on remotely. Collier is slated to host his own town hall meeting next week.
Lachlan Murdoch’s speech echoed the comments his father made earlier this week.
“When this transaction is complete, I anticipate tremendous opportunity for our businesses and colleagues alike,” Rupert Murdoch wrote. “Fox will be a force in the U.S. market with powerful brands, leading sports, news and entertainment programming, and resources to invest in higher growth initiatives.”
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