His performance impressed executives at NBC’s parent company, Comcast. In May 2020, Jeff Shell, then chief executive of NBCUniversal, put Mr. Conde in charge of NBC News Group, replacing a veteran journalist, Andrew Lack.
Privately, Mr. Shell acknowledged that Mr. Conde had a different background than his predecessor.
According to two people familiar with his comments, Mr. Shell said there were three types of leaders who ran news organizations. “Journalists, politicians and businessmen,” Mr. Shell said, the two people recalled. “Cesar is a politician.”
Under Mr. Conde’s watch, the news division has expanded its digital efforts, and MSNBC’s and NBC’s flagship television programs have continued to draw strong ratings. On Friday, Mike Cavanagh, Comcast’s chairman, praised Mr. Conde’s management “during a transition period” in the media. “News Group’s performance speaks to its great leadership, especially in difficult times,” he said in a statement.
Some of Mr. Conte’s moves raised eyebrows in the NBC newsroom.
He arranged for guest lists to be forwarded to his office on the air so that he could pass by and greet important and powerful visitors. When Mr. Bush was interviewed on “Today” in 2021 by his daughter, Jenna Bush Hager, Mr. Conte asked his office to forward his biography to the former president in advance, according to two people familiar with the matter. regulation. (Mr. Conte often speaks admiringly of his time working as an aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell under Mr. Bush.)
Mr. Conde also kept his board seats at Pepsi and Walmart, from which he earned more than $640,000 in compensation last year, according to financial filings. News leaders typically try to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. Mr Conde said he recused himself from any editorial decisions involving the two companies. (He is also a trustee at the Aspen Institute, which sponsors the Festival of Ideas; in 2021, under Mr. Conde, NBC News Group signed a partnership as the institute’s media partner.)
