Fox Names Nicholas Trutanich General Counsel as Adam Ciongoli Steps Down

Fox announced a major transition within its legal leadership team, confirming that Chief Legal and Policy Officer Adam Ciongoli will step down from his executive position when his contract concludes on December 1, according to reporting by Deadline. To succeed him, Fox has promoted Nicholas Trutanich to the role of General Counsel, positioning him as the corporation's top legal officer. Trutanich currently holds the title of Executive Vice President and Principal Deputy General Counsel and will report directly to Fox Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch.

Trutanich expressed enthusiasm for the new post as Fox navigates significant corporate maneuvers. "It is an exciting time of growth and innovation at Fox, and I look forward to working with colleagues across the company to advance our goals," Trutanich stated, as reported by Deadline. The legal elevation comes at a critical juncture for the mass media company, which is currently moving forward with a transformative $22 billion acquisition of streaming platform Roku, an expansion deal first announced last summer.

As part of the organizational realignment, additional reporting structures within Fox's corporate hierarchy are shifting. Kristopher Jones, who serves as Executive Vice President and Head of Government Relations, will now report to President and Chief Operating Officer John Nallen, Deadline reported. Meanwhile, Ciongoli will not be parting ways with the company entirely; according to the verified report, he is scheduled to serve as a special advisor to Fox through June 2028.

Murdoch praised both executives in an official statement detailing the leadership handover, thanking Ciongoli for his tenure and welcoming Trutanich into his expanded capacity. "I’d like to thank Adam for his many immense contributions over the last three years," Murdoch said, according to Deadline. "I deeply appreciate his service to Fox and am grateful that he will continue to serve Fox as a special advisor. Nick Trutanich has been a critical member of the Fox team since joining the company five years ago and will bring deep legal, litigation and compliance experience to this expanded role. We look forward to Nick’s leadership."

Ciongoli originally joined Fox in 2023 after serving as executive vice president and general counsel for Campbell Soup Company. At Fox, he succeeded Viet Dinh, who had been a central figure in corporate management while Fox News navigated a high-profile defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems regarding coverage of the 2020 presidential election. That legal battle was resolved in 2022 when Fox agreed to a $787 million settlement just as the trial was slated to commence.

Trutanich brings substantial prosecutorial and regulatory background to the general counsel office. He first joined Fox in 2021 as Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer. Prior to his tenure at Fox, Trutanich served as the United States Attorney for the District of Nevada from 2019 to 2021, following senior leadership roles within the attorney general's office and service as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice, according to Deadline's reporting.