Ken Jautz, a key senior CNN executive who played a critical role in both making the news giant run properly and developing some of its best known personalities, will leave the Warner Bros, Discovery operation by year’s end.

Longtime CNN executive Ken Jautz is exiting the network after 36 years. “Ken has decided he is ready for a new chapter and will depart CNN at the end of the year,” CEO Mark Thompson told employees in a memo to staff on Wednesday. “It is difficult to capture the impact Ken has had on our brand.”

Ken Jautz, a 36-year veteran of CNN who has been part of its leadership team, will depart at the end of the year. CNN Worldwide CEO Mark Thompson said in a memo to staffers that Jautz “has decided he is ready for a new chapter.