Jim Walton, longtime president of CNN, will leave the company at the end of the year, CNNMoney reported, saying the company needed “a new leader who brings a different perspective, different experiences and a new plan.” 

Walton joined CNN as an entry-level video journalist in 1981 and has been company president since 2003. During Walton’s tenure, CNN has expanded worldwide, on television, digital and mobile platforms. 

“When Jim Walton assumed the presidency of CNN in 2003, it was underperforming and earnings were in serious decline,” Time Warner Inc. CEO and Chairman Jeff Bewkes said in a statement. “Since then, he and CNN have tripled earnings, doubled margin and delivered annual growth of 15 percent.”