NPR CEO Gary Knell Announces He's Leaving

After fewer than 21 months on the job, NPR CEO Gary Knell announced that he's leaving the organization to become president and CEO at the National Geographic Society.

Knell said he was "approached by the organization recently and offered an opportunity that, after discussions with my family, I could not turn down." Knell came to NPR from Sesame Workshop in December 2011, in the wake of considerable upheaval. Vivian Schiller had resigned as CEO and president earlier that year, after two high-profile controversies. Once Knell arrived on the scene, NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik says, the turmoil seemed to ease as the sense grew that NPR was being "led by grownups who were working constructively in a shared direction" — even as the organization continued to face significant budget pressures. Now comes Knell's looming departure. The outgoing executive says he feels he's leaving NPR in better shape than when he arrived, and that the organization is "much bigger than a CEO." He's expecting that before he leaves in November, NPR's board will have approved a strategic plan — highlighted by an increasing emphasis on collaborations between member stations and the national staff. Knell believes his successor will be able to pick up and continue that "strategic trajectory."