Malone steps down from Liberty roles
October 30, 2025
By Colin Mann
John Malone is to step down from his Chairman roles at Liberty Global and Liberty Media, transitioning to Chairman Emeritus.
Malone will step down from the Liberty Global Board effective January 1st 2026 and transition to Chairman Emeritus. In this capacity, Malone will continue to provide active counsel and strategic insight to Liberty Global and may attend board meetings, but will not have a formal vote on Board matters.
Mike Fries, Liberty Global’s Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman, will succeed Malone as Chairman of the Board. Fries has served as CEO since the Company’s formation in 2005 and was a co-founder of its predecessor more than 35 years ago. He also currently serves as Chairman of Liberty Latin America Ltd. and Sunrise Communications AG, two previous spin-offs of Liberty Global.
“Serving as Chairman of Liberty Global over the past 20 years has been a tremendous journey,” said Malone. “From our early investments to the creation of Liberty Global and the many chapters that followed, the return to long-term shareholders has been outstanding — and getting there has been, like the industry itself, never dull and a lot of fun.”
“I’ve often said that if you live long enough you get to see everything twice and it feels like we’ve done just that at Liberty Global — with investments across 50 countries, more than $200 billion in M&A, and a great company and culture. I’m particularly proud of how Mike and the team have navigated the profound changes in technology and market dynamics over that time — reshaping the portfolio, prioritising national scale, and leading the way in digital television, gigabit broadband and fixed-mobile convergence.”
“I have complete confidence in Mike to continue guiding the company forward, as he’s done over the past two decades. He and I have always seen eye-to-eye on how best to create value for shareholders, and I will remain one of Liberty Global’s largest. He also has the support of a strong and engaged Board that I look forward to staying close to — both professionally and personally. I’m not retiring from business, but I am looking to reduce travel and time commitments. This transition will allow me to do so while ensuring continuity for the company and its stakeholders.”
“My working relationship with John spans more than three decades, beginning when he first invested in our small but ambitious international cable operation,” added Fries. “Our partnership since then — and especially over the past 20 years during his tenure as Chairman of Liberty Global — has been the most rewarding experience of my professional career. I often remind my team that we stand on the shoulders of giants in this industry, and none broader than John’s. His extraordinary wisdom and strategic guidance have been invaluable and, personally, I could not have asked for a better mentor and friend. On behalf of our Board, our 30,000 employees and our global network of customers, suppliers and partners, I want to thank John for his tremendous contributions to Liberty Global and for agreeing to remain engaged as we continue to unlock value for shareholders.”
Following Malone’s resignation, the Board will be composed of ten directors, nine of whom will be independent.
Effective January 1st, 2026, Malone will step down from the board of directors of Liberty Media and transition to the role of Chairman Emeritus. Vice Chairman Robert R. (Dob) Bennett will assume the role of Chairman of the Board.
“Founding Liberty Media and serving as its Chairman has been among the most rewarding experiences of my professional life,” said Malone. “With the successful simplification of our portfolio in recent years and our operating businesses in positions of strength, I believe it is an appropriate time to step back from certain of my obligations, and I am very pleased to have Dob Bennett, my partner and colleague of 35 years, stepping into the Chairman role. Dob has been involved in all key decisions throughout Liberty Media’s history, and I am confident that Liberty is well-positioned for the future. I look forward to remaining actively engaged as a large Liberty shareholder and a strategic advisor to our management and Board.”
“I want to thank John for more than three decades of partnership and mentorship,” added Bennett. “His legacy as a visionary business leader is without parallel and I am deeply grateful for his confidence. I speak for the entire Board in thanking John for his extraordinary leadership as our Chairman and for his continuing engagement as Chairman Emeritus,” said Bennett.
“I share Dob’s respect and appreciation for the privilege of working with John over the years and for the platform he built in Liberty,” commented Derek Chang, President and CEO of Liberty Media. “We look forward to continuing to benefit from John’s partnership as a strategic voice and advisor as we pursue long-term value creation at Liberty Media and focus on sustained growth in our high-quality portfolio of assets.”
Bennett has been Vice Chairman of the Board since January 1st, 2025, a director of Liberty Media since 1994 and a member of its Executive Committee for over 15 years. Bennett served as Liberty Media’s President and Chief Executive Officer from 1997 to 2005, prior to which he held other executive roles since joining Liberty Media as one of its founding executives in 1991.
Following Malone’s resignation, the Board will be composed of eight directors effective January 1st, 2026, five of whom will be independent. The Executive Committee of the Board will be comprised of Dob Bennett, Derek Chang and Chase Carey.
As of August 31st, 2025, Malone beneficially owns approximately 241 thousand shares of Series A Formula One common stock, 2.364 million shares of Series B Formula One common stock and 2.515 million shares of Series C Formula One common stock, representing approximately 49.5 per cent of the voting power of the Formula One common stock, as well as approximately 251 thousand shares of Series A Liberty Live common stock, 2.465 million shares of Series B Liberty Live common stock and 4.314 million shares of Series C Liberty Live common stock, representing approximately 48.9 per cent of the voting power of the Liberty Live common stock.
Q3 results
Meanwhile, Liberty Global has announced its Q3 2025 financial results.
Fries stated: “In the third quarter, we continued to execute against our key strategic initiatives. Despite challenging competitive environments across our Telecom markets, our operations each showed signs of commercial progress. Liberty Growth saw the conclusion of an outstanding Season 11 at Formula E, with fan engagement and TV viewership at record levels, while our data centre assets continued to appreciate during the quarter. At Liberty Services & Corporate, we implemented an extensive programme to reshape our operating model, driving cost efficiencies and resulting in a more agile platform going forward with Liberty Blume and Liberty Tech well-positioned to create value. An unwavering focus on fostering, crystallising and delivering value to shareholders remains our top priority.”
- Liberty Telecom: Telco operations in the UK, Netherlands and Ireland all delivered improved net adds across both their broadband and postpaid commercial results in Q3, while Belgium remained broadly stable. VMO2 successfully launched giffgaff broadband, underpinning its multi-brand approach in fixed alongside a similar strategy in mobile. VodafoneZiggo’s new strategic plan helped deliver its best quarterly broadband performance in over two years and in October, VodafoneZiggo launched a 2 Gbps offering, reaching nearly 7 million homes by year-end. Lastly, in Belgium the authorities launched a market test to assess the proposed network collaboration between Telenet, Wyre, Proximus and Fiberklaar; this is a significant step towards finalising the agreement. Additionally, the recent €4.35 billion underwritten financing for Wyre fully funds the fiber build-out and reduces Telenet servco leverage.
- Liberty Growth: The company portfolio remains concentrated, with the top six investments comprising >80 per cent of its $3.4 billion FMV. Formula E concluded a record growth year, with a double-digit increase in the global fanbase year-over-year and 17 per cent growth in cumulative TV-viewership to 561 million.
- Liberty Services and Corporate: Liberty implemented a significant reshaping of its corporate operating model in the third quarter, driving a material improvement in projected Adj. EBITDA outlook. Including run-rate cost savings across Liberty Corporate and Liberty Tech, the company now anticipates that its 2026 negative Adj. EBITDA will be ~$100 million, a 50 per cent reduction from our run-rate going into 2025. Liberty adds it continues to view its tech-enabled back office (Liberty Blume) and technology (LG Tech) platforms as potential sources of value creation going forward.
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