Les Moonves, the embattled CBS Corp. chief executive, will live to see another day at the company following sexual misconduct allegations, the board of directors announced Monday afternoon.
In a statement, the company said its board “is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation. No other action was taken on this matter at today’s board meeting.”
CBS additionally announced its annual shareholders meeting — previously scheduled for Aug. 10 — will be postponed to a later date. It is the second time CBS delayed this year’s meeting. The first came back in May after the Moonves-led company sued controlling shareholder Shari Redstone and National Amusements in an effort to block a merger with Viacom.
CBS did not announce a new date for the shareholders meeting, but said the board would publicly disclose it, along with the time and location.
Moonves, the 68-year-old titan of CBS and mass media, was accused of sexual misconduct by six women, according to a Ronan Farrow report in the New Yorker on Friday.
In a statement to the magazine, Moonves said: “I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career.”
