by: E&P Staff

Hearst Corporation today has announced that Scott M. Sassa is the new president of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication, the operating group responsible for Hearst?s interests in newspaper syndication; cable television networks; television production and distribution; and merchandise licensing. He also becomes senior vice president of Hearst Corp.

Bruce L. Paisner, who has served as executive vice president of the group, is retiring after 27 years at Hearst and will become a consultant to the Company.

Sassa, 49, served as founder and CEO of Uber, a consumer Internet start-up, before joining Hearst. He was a CEO-in-residence at the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers from 2005 to 2006, and served as president and CEO of Friendster.

Between 1997 and 2004, Sassa was an executive at NBC: From 1997 to 1998, he served as president of the NBC Television Stations division, and later served as president of NBC Entertainment. From 1999 to 2002, he was president/NBC West Coast, responsible for overseeing all of the network?s entertainment-related businesses.