CFO leaves Viacom for equity firm

Richard J. Bressler, the former chief financial officer of Viacom, said Sunday that he planned to join Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Boston-based private equity firm.

The firm is expected to formally announce the appointment today.

Bressler, a veteran of the media industry who has held several top positions at Viacom and Time Warner, is the latest highly ranked executive from corporate America to join the ranks of the burgeoning and lucrative private equity industry. Bressler said last January that he would leave Viacom.

For Thomas H. Lee Partners, the move comes at a time of change. Its founder, Thomas H. Lee, is expected to step down from the firm as part of a long-standing succession plan this year. The firm is also near to closing its latest fund, which could be worth as much as $10 billion.

Bressler, 48, will become a managing director and head the firm's strategic resources group, which helps advise the managements of companies the firm owns.

Thomas H. Lee Partners owns several media companies, including Warner Music and American Media, the publisher of Star magazine and The National Inquirer. Bressler has been a director and the chairman of the audit committee of Warner Music.

"For me, the question was what to do with all of this experience and what would be the best role for me?" Bressler said in an interview. "The fit for me at this firm was just right. I feel very fortunate."

After Lee departs, Thomas H. Lee Partners will be run by three co- presidents: Anthony J. DiNovi, Scott A. Schoen and Scott M. Sperling. Sperling said the firm planned to build up its strategic resources group even further by hiring other industry veterans.

Historically, the firm's partners have also had responsibility for overseeing investments. This move appears to be a slight strategic shift to add more operating expertise.

The firm's current $6.1 billion fund, which started investing in 2001, has been a big success, with deals including Warner Music Group, TransWestern Publishing and National Waterworks. The company hit one pothole with its investment in Refco, the futures and commodities brokerage firm that collapsed last year.

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