Stephanie McMahon talks about her passion for WWE and how honored she is to be the chairwoman of the board.
When Vince McMahon retired, it created an unprecedented moment in WWE where he would no longer be leading the charge for the company. On the business end of things, that will now be overseen by his daughter, Stephanie who will be the Co-CEO with Nick Khan, and their Chief Financial Officer, Frank Riddick III.
Shortly before taking the role as Co-CEO, Stephanie was in the middle of a leave of absence from WWE, citing a need to spend time with family. During the financial earnings call covering Q2 2022, Stephanie says she offered to return to the company as CEO and she is honored to be in the position as her personal roots with WWE date back to her childhood as a model for WWE merchandise.
"I have worked in WWE since I’ve been about eight years old, modeling merchandise for our then-catalog, in any variety of capacities. My parents couldn’t afford a nanny when we were bringing up the business, so on weekends, I would sit in with our receptionist at headquarters," Stephanie recalled. "I’ve worked my entire life for this business, I love this business. I took a leave of absence, realizing that I needed a little bit of time with my family given the grueling schedule and nature. I got about three weeks, which is more than a lot of other folks get. I was not forced into returning as CEO and Chairman in the interim position. I offered. That was an opportunity for me to come back and be part of this company that I love and have the opportunity to lead this company. This business is something I believe in to my core. I believe in the impact we make on people’s lives, not only growing the business, which I believe we have so many opportunities to do as has been laid out by all of us, but because of the impact we make. We truly bring people together for generations from all over the world with all different backgrounds. We give them relief, entertainment, an opportunity to come together that is very rare, unusual, and special. Whatever we can do to continue to deliver on that promise is what we want to do."
Stephanie does reiterate that her father remains the controlling shareholder and still wants what is best for business in terms of maximizing the greatest return for shareholders.
"That being said, Vince McMahon, is still very much the controlling shareholder. He still has his eyes for what is best for our business in terms of maximizing return to our shareholders, of which he is the biggest shareholder. Nick, Paul, Frank, and I remain focused on delivering the maximum results to our shareholders. We will properly evaluate any opportunity that comes our way with that lens in mind," said Stephanie.
Also on this financial earnings call, WWE boasted unprecedented WrestleMania ticket sales for the upcoming 39th-annual event, which will take place in Hollywood. Learn more here.
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