News from the News Corp.
Former Senator from New Hampshire Kelly Ayotte is the new member in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation’s Board of Directors, effective April 1, 2017.
She will be serving on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Newbie
Ayotte, 48, who has a background in law, has served New Hampshire over five years (2011-17).
Murdoch, the company’s CEO, praised Ayotte’s addition “I am pleased to welcome to News Corp’s Board of Directors Senator Ayotte, who brings with her invaluable leadership and strategic planning skills, as well as in-depth knowledge in the areas of public policy, government and law.”
“It’s an honor to join the Board,” said Ayotte.
Adding, “I’m looking forward to working with Rupert Murdoch and his talented team at News Corp. By providing high quality news, books, digital real estate services and more to people around the world, News Corp plays such an important role in keeping people informed and engaged while focusing on delivering long-term value for investors.”
News Corp owns Move, Inc., which operates the website realtor.com.
In addition, News corp. owns newspapers in the U.S., U.K. and Australia, plus the book publisher HarperCollins and other media brands.
Prior to her Senate election, Ayotte was the state’s first female Attorney General, serving from 2004 until 2009.
She graduated from Pennsylvania State University and earned a Juris Doctorate from Villanova University.
Her résumé.
New Corp has pulled Ayotte into its board for her experience in both the Senate Budget and Senate Commerce Committee, including on its Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, which the company hopes “will offer valuable insights to the Board on private sector innovation.”
Ayotte, a Republican, would be replacing the new U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Elaine L. Chao, who resigned from the board upon her confirmation.
Ayotte lost her senate seat last fall to former Gov. Maggie Hassan, a Democrat in a hotly contested battle. She lost her seat by a very narrow margin of 750 votes, almost unheard of in recent times.
Teamwork already
Although Ayotte did not vote for President Trump in the election (she said she penciled in Mike Pence’s name), the President tapped Ayotte to help with the Supreme Court confirmation process of his nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch.
On April 4, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Gorsuch in a party-line vote, ending an intense lobbying effort by Trump’s team, and a clear victory for Ayotte’s efforts.
Now she would be focusing her expertise and deep Washington connections on behalf of News Corp.
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