CBS Names Dana McClintock Chief Spokesman

Dana McClintock will become executive vice president, chief communications officer of CBS Corp. McClintock, who previously was the company’s EVP of communications, succeeds Gil Schwartz, who recently announced he would be retiring. McClintock’s appointment will be effective on Schwartz’s last day, Nov. 1.

“Handing the reins from Gil to Dana will be a natural transition,” said Joe Ianniello, president and acting chief executive officer, CBS Corp. “I have been relying on Dana’s expertise for many years now, and I am extremely pleased to have him as a senior member of my management team. I am confident that he and the very strong bench we have in CBS Communications will continue to operate at the top of their field.”

“The role of communications in this complex and challenging media world has never been more crucial,” said Schwartz. “That is why CBS is so fortunate to have Dana McClintock to assume leadership of the department. Dana’s honesty, intelligence, coolness under fire and overall positive spirit have already distinguished him in our business. It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with him all these years. I know that, working with the incomparable Chris Ender, he will lead CBS Communications to continued achievement in the years to come.”

“We have an outstanding opportunity ahead to communicate CBS Corp.’s bright future,” said McClintock. “I am very motivated by all the remarkable people I get to work with at this company every day, beginning, of course, with Joe. In addition, I join all of my CBS Communications colleagues in thanking Gil for being such a terrific leader over the many years. There will never be another like him. Going forward, it gives me great pleasure to know I will be continuing my partnership with Chris Ender and Kelli Raftery, as together we lead a tremendous group of professionals who stay ready to communicate all that CBS has to offer.”

In his new role, McClintock will have oversight of the communications group that incorporates public relations, media relations and corporate and internal communications functions for all divisions of the company. He will continue to be based in New York.

During his 25-year career at CBS, McClintock has been instrumental in positioning CBS. He played a key role in shaping the communications infrastructure of CBS Corp. after it became a standalone publicly traded company in 2006.

McClintock joined CBS in 1993 to help launch CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman. He then served as director, Olympics communications, CBS Sports, for the network’s coverage of the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. After the Olympics, he returned to New York to become director of communications for the company.

He was named VP in 1999, SVP in 2002 and EVP in 2013. In between working on Letterman and the Nagano Olympics, McClintock worked in communications at ABC News from 1996 until 1997.

He is a graduate of Colby College.