Conducting Change: From Executive Suite to Symphony Hall

George Mahoney had a front row seat to one of the most turbulent chapters in the history of media. As the former CEO of Media General, Inc., he served as a strategic and transformational leader in an industry that struggled to adapt and innovate.

Having successfully navigated an environment where digital channels reshaped how news and advertising were consumed, George later found himself facing an altogether different opportunity to transform an organization, this time the result of an existential threat that could not possibly have been anticipated.

From law school to local news

George had started his career as a litigator at a First Amendment firm. This led him to Dow Jones & Company, Inc., working first with its fledgling electronic division, then advising the operating groups of The Wall Street Journal.

In the early 1990s, George was recruited to become the General Counsel of Media General, then a 100+ year-old conglomerate with a broad media portfolio including newspapers, local television stations, cable television, and newsprint manufacturing. The company thrived during the first few years George was there, but there were clouds on the horizon. And even as the company began to narrow its focus, digital became a significant threat to newspapers.

“The media industry, and particularly newspapers, were incredibly slow to modernize. Digital competition hit us much faster, and much harder, than anyone ever had imagined. It was a trainwreck, with once-comfortable executives either departing or learning crisis management.”

After decades of near-monopolies in local print markets, Media General was going to need to find a new business model.

Hedge funds and a new era of growth

Eventually, publishers and broadcasters learned that the only way to survive was to break away from their predominantly family ownership models and combine into fewer, larger companies. For companies like Media General, these forces brought with them new, activist stockholders and an entirely different breed of owners.  And all of them had greater expectations for margins and profitability.

Meantime, George had broadened his Media General responsibilities by developing and running the company’s successful innovation program, then moving to the business side of the company to run its digital operations.  Along the way the company transitioned from a family-controlled Board to a hedge fund-dominated ownership structure—and finally sold its print assets.

George—now the Chief Operating Officer—began to oversee these strategic and governance shifts.

“With the newspapers gone, we had something of a fresh start. We could tell the story of Media General as a changed company: one focused on broadcast and digital, with influential investors like Berkshire Hathaway as minority stockholders. But still, the pace of change accelerated. It was clear we had to be a lot quicker on our feet.”

George continued to navigate a rapidly consolidating broadcast industry and was ultimately named CEO. M&A became a strategic necessity, leading to a doubling and then a redoubling of the company’s size through a series of transactions.

Media general started to regain credibility with investors. But it wasn't just about their assets and ownership—they needed a new streamlined business model and a new internal structure to support it.

“We decentralized and cut costs, particularly at the corporate level—the changes were painful, but effective. We gave more authority to local leadership, increased margins, and established ourselves as a leader in local broadcasting and digital media.”

Having successfully transformed the company, George ultimately found himself at a career crossroads thinking about what’s next. He knew he wanted to explore new opportunities, but the continuing rapid consolidation in the broadcast industry forced him to be more expansive in his thinking.

Leading the Symphony to safety

George spent time exploring his options. Ultimately, he landed on a portfolio approach and found an opportunity that became particularly meaningful to him: spending more time on his volunteer role on the Board of the Richmond Symphony, rising to become its Chair.

In less than a year, however, George found himself back in familiar territory, managing through another existential crisis—this time it was the Symphony facing crisis, and the crisis was the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s hard to imagine a more challenging business model than ours during the pandemic. Symphony performances required musicians and audiences to sit closely together for extended periods—and fear, uncertainty and distancing guidelines made that very, very tough.”

George worked closely with the board—in the face of a nearly complete turnover of the senior staff—to stabilize the organization and transform its operating model through creative fundraising efforts and community support.

The end result? Despite the obstacles, the Richmond Symphony did not miss a single major performance. Adhering to the social distancing guidelines with smaller audiences and contingents of performers—while quickly adopting streaming technologies—the Symphony continued to play for both in-person audiences and its new remote audiences, emerging from the crisis in a stronger position than before.

Lessons from a career in leadership

In another aspect of his portfolio career, George continues to find a sense of purpose as an advisor and mentor to other leaders.

“One thing I really missed about being an executive was the team aspect of the work, collaborating with a whole network of people with a shared purpose to manage through change and achieve success.”

Today, in his role as a peer advisor with ICEO, he helps senior executives navigate their own paths, leveraging his experience to provide guidance and strategic insight.  He has found an environment that mirrored what he had valued the most: collaboration, shared learning, and a commitment to supporting others.

“The most satisfying aspect of my role at LHH is that I am able to offer insight, guidance, and advice in a collaborative, team-based environment while continuing to learn and grow myself as I work with executives through significant inflection points in their businesses and careers.”

George’s story is a powerful reminder that leadership—and managing through crisis—is not just about adapting to new environments, transforming business models, or making strategic decisions. Leadership success requires a team.

Reuben Cohen is the North American Managing Director for LHH’s International Center for Executive Options (ICEO). He and his team work as trusted advisors to CEOs and top executives, guiding them through career inflection points toward various new paths.