American businessman, billionaire, and philanthropist Ronald S. Lauder, a founder of media group Central European Media Enterprises (CME), the company that owns Pro TV in Romania, has resigned from the company’s board, according to a CME statement.

Ronald Lauder “has been instrumental to the establishment and growth of independent television broadcasting in Central and Eastern Europe, beginning with the launch of TV Nova in the Czech Republic in 1994 as that country’s first commercial broadcaster,” reads the statement.

He has been the non-executive chairman of the company’s Board of Directors for the past 20 years. Ronald Lauder is the son of the late Joseph and Estée Lauder, founders of Estée Lauder, Inc and was born in 1944. More about him here.

The American businessman’s resignation comes less than a year after Romanian Adrian Sarbu resigned as president and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the media group. Lauder and Sarbu together launched the Romanian ProTV in the 90s, which was later sold to the CME group.

CME is a media and entertainment company operating in six Central and Eastern European markets with a total population of some 50 million people.

In Romania, the company runs Pro TV, Pro TV International, Acasa, Acasa Gold, Pro Cinema, Sport.ro, MTV Romania, Pro TV Chisinau and Acasa in Moldova.

The company also has broadcast operations in Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Slovenia.

CME is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and the Prague Stock Exchange under the symbol "CETV".

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com