Wendy McMahon Isn't Done Making News

In her first in-depth interview since stepping down, the former president and CEO of CBS News opens up about why she suddenly left one of legacy media's top positions-and the clarity that came afterward.

- BY NOOR IBRAHIM

What guided your decision to resign from CBS?

The company and I didn’t agree on the path forward. That is the reality. As a leader, as a CEO within an organization, when you sense misalignment, when you believe your vision and your values are at odds with how the business is moving—that’s your cue, right? I think it always starts with your gut, that sense of unease. When you have that, I do think you have to challenge your gut and surround yourself with people who are going to be real truth-tellers versus your cheerleaders. And I think it’s important to really identify and know for yourself: Am I running from something, or am I running toward something? That’s how I ultimately arrived at that decision.

Can you share what that moment felt like for you?

It was equal parts exhilarating and painful, and those emotions compete within minutes, hours of each other. You have to acknowledge that you're standing in the middle of a storm and you're doing everything you can to keep your footing. I feel like the loss actually comes later. In the moment, you're inundated with people who want to talk to you, with people who want to tell you how much you mean to them, how much your leadership meant to them, and then things become a bit more quiet. That's, I think, where the loss piece kicks in.