Leonard Asper resigns as Canwest CEO

After 10 years of running the company his father founded, Leonard Asper has resigned. On Thursday, Asper officially stepped down from his position as CEO and from the board of Canwest Global Communications Corp. citing a conflict of interest.

Asper had been working with New York investment bank Goldman Sachs and private equity firm Catalyst Capital Group to launch a bid that would rival one made by cable giant Shaw Communications Inc., but was turned down by an Ontario judge.

“As the company continues to work through the separate, court-supervised restructurings of its Publishing and Broadcasting groups, it is a natural time for me to move on,” Asper told Canwest employees in a memo yesterday.

“This decision did not come without a lot of careful consideration. Taking this action now will also allow me to pursue other business opportunities and avoid any conflict of interest that I have.”

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