Travel Channel president Laureen Ong his seeking a new destination.
Ong announced her decision to leave Friday, saying, “I feel my mission at Travel Channel is complete.”
“I feel my mission at Travel Channel is complete,” Ong said. “I came here to help transition Travel Channel into the Scripps family of lifestyle brands, put together a great leadership and creative team, and position the network for unprecedented growth. With those objectives accomplished, I’m looking forward to Travel Channel’s continuing evolution into a uniquely defined and competitively powerful lifestyle television brand.”
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Ong will step down at the end of the month. Burton Jablin, president of Scripps Networks’ operating division, will fulfill Ong’s duties on an interim basis.
Prior to coming aboard the Travel Channel, Ong — who assumed the position of Travel Channel president in April 2010 — served as chief operating officer at Hong Kong-based television network Star Group Limited. She was also a founding president of National Geographic Channel.
“With Laureen Ong at the helm, Travel Channel has made great strides toward redefining travel as a television genre and establishing Travel Channel as a premier lifestyle television brand,” Jablin said. “Laureen provided the right leadership at the right time that was needed to move Travel Channel in a new direction to enhance its value to media consumers, advertisers and content distributors.”
Under Ong’s tenure, the Travel Channel launched such series as “Hotel Impossible,” “Monumental Mysteries” and “Airport 24/7: Miami.”