Kelly Ayotte, the former U.S. Senator from New Hampshire who said last fall she would not vote for Donald Trump, was elected to the News Corp board of directors, the company announced Monday.
Ayotte, who was defeated last November in her re-election bid by former Gov. Maggie Hassan after serving just one term, joined the company’s board effective April 1.
She replaces Elaine Chao, who resigned from the board upon her confirmation as President Trump’s Secretary of Transportation. Ayotte will serve on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board.
Prior to her election to the Senate, she served as the chief of New Hampshire’s Homicide Unit and Deputy Attorney General of New Hampshire before being named the State’s first female Attorney General, in which role she served from 2004 until 2009.
“I am pleased to welcome to News Corp’s Board of Directors Senator Ayotte, who brings with her invaluable leadership and strategic planning skills, as well as in-depth knowledge in the areas of public policy, government and law,” said Executive Chairman Rupert Murdoch.
“It’s an honor to join the Board, and I’m looking forward to working with Rupert Murdoch and his talented team at News Corp. By providing high quality news, books, digital real estate services and more to people around the world, News Corp plays such an important role in keeping people informed and engaged while focusing on delivering long-term value for investors,” said Senator Ayotte.
News Corp was spun off in 2013 from Murdoch’s 20th Century Fox as a publicly traded company that focuses on legacy media properties that are primarily print-based, including HarperCollins book publisher, the Wall Street Journal, New York Post and other newspaper properties in the U.S., U.K. and Australia.