BRIAN GREY is stepping down as Bleacher Report CEO and Turner Sports Senior VP "to pursue the next chapter in his professional career," according to internal memos obtained by THE DAILY. Longtime Turner exec MATT HONG will take over Grey's duties. "From the onset of our initial interest in Bleacher Report, during the acquisition stage and throughout the past year, Matt has been an instrumental figure in leading the integration of the brand into the Turner portfolio," Turner Sports Exec VP & COO LENNY DANIELS wrote in an internal memo. Bleacher Report co-Founder & Chief Content Officer DAVE FINOCCHIO and Chief Technology Offer SAM PARNELL will report to Hong, with Finocchio overseeing Bleacher Report's day-to-day functions. "Today begins the next chapter in what has been an amazing story and one that I am immensely proud to have been a part of for more than 3 years," Grey said in a memo sent to staff Thursday. Grey, a former exec at Fox Sports, Polaris Venture Partners and Yahoo, joined Bleacher Report in June '10 and played a significant role in the expansion of the site's content profile that included the recent hiring of noted basketball writer HOWARD BECK, the closing of a round of venture-capital funding worth more than $22M and last summer's acquisition of the company by Turner for an estimated $175M. Grey's future plans have not been disclosed.
