Key Murdoch adviser to leave News Corp
Matthew Anderson, News Corp’s director of strategy and corporate affairs, and key adviser to James Murdoch, is to leave the company in March.
Anderson is understood to have played an important role in counseling the News Corp executives throughout last summer’s phone hacking scandal, which resulted in the closure of the News of the World and the Murdochs being summonsed to appear in front of a parliamentary select committee.
He joined News Corp in 2008 from BSkyB, where, as group director of communications and brand marketing he led the high profile “Sky: believe in better” brand positioning campaign.
Anderson first forged ties with James Murdoch in 2000, when he was chief executive for Ogilvy PR’s Asia Pacific region, which counted News Corp’s Star TV among its clients. Murdoch junior was chief executive of the Asian pay-TV company at the time.
James Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer at News Corp, says: “Matthew has played a key role in many of our most important projects for more than ten years. He has ranged across varied and wide terrain, and has been a versatile, resourceful and highly insightful colleague.”
Anderson is leaving the company to “pursue new opportunities” in the US but will continue to act as a senior adviser to News Corp on “select international initiatives and relevant directorships”.
