NYT Forms Committee To Name Successor To Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

A new era is on the horizon for The New York Times.

Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. has begun the succession process, he announced Monday during his annual State of The Times address to staff. Sulzberger will appoint a deputy publisher within the next two years, he said.

"I’ve been in my role as publisher for more than 20 years and I’ve hit my mid-sixties, so it should come as no surprise that the task of choosing my successor has begun," Sulzberger said, according to a copy of his remarks the Times sent to The Huffington Post.

He reaffirmed his family’s commitment to the publication's mission and promised transparency in the process, which will involve the Times board, senior management and Sulzberger family trustees.

Sulzberger's successor is expected to come from within the Ochs-Sulzberger clan; the family has maintained a controlling interest in the paper for more than 119 years.

Sulzberger may remain chairman of the board until he is 70 years old, New York Magazine reported in an August profile of the contenders most likely to take on the publisher role. Sulzberger turned 64 this year.

The magazine reports that it's likely one of the following men will take over for Sulzberger. They’re all fourth-generation family members who currently hold positions at the Times:

• Arthur Gregg “A. G.” Sulzberger III, 34: Sulzberger's son and current Times associate editor
• David Perpich, 38: Sulzberger’s nephew and current Times executive vice president of product and technology
• Sam Dolnick, 34: son of Sulzberger’s cousin Lynn Golden Dolnick, and current Times associate editor

The Times declined to comment further on Sulzberger’s announcement.

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