CBS interim chairman Parsons resigns due to ill health

CBS interim chairman Richard Parsons has resigned from the board for reasons of ill health about a month after joining, the company said in a statement on Sunday.

Effective immediately, Strauss Zelnick will assume Parsons' position as Interim Chairman of the Board, CBS Corporation. The appointment follows a unanimous decision this evening by the CBS Board.

"The reason for my departure relates to the state of my health," said Parsons. "As some of you know, when I agreed to join the board and serve as the interim chair, I was already dealing with a serious health challenge – multiple myeloma – but I felt that the situation was manageable. Unfortunately, unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges, and my doctors have advised that cutting back on my current commitments is essential to my overall recovery."

Parsons, 70, is the former chairman and chief executive of Time Warner, as well as serving as chairman of Citigroup.

He was also an interim chief executive of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA.

Parsons’ became interim chairman less than a month after the resignation of Leslie Moonves amid a new wave of allegations of sexual assault and harassment.

Moonves stepped down as chairman, chief executive officer and president of CBS on Sept. 9.

At that time, the media company also said Bruce Gordon and William Cohen, who have served on its board since CBS became a standalone public company in 2006, have decided to step down from their posts to focus on other personal and professional priorities.

This story has been updated