Former Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons has resigned as interim chairman of broadcaster CBS Corp., citing health reasons. Take-Two Interactive Software chief and CBS board member Strauss Zelnick will assume the role of interim chairman immediately.

Parsons, who retired from Time Warner in 2008, was named interim chairman of CBS in September, just weeks after a sexual harassment scandal rocked the entertainment giant and resulted in the departure of several executives, including chairman and CEO Les Moonves. Moonves has denied any wrongdoing.

Parsons was considered to be a calming influence on the board and has stepped in during sticky situations at other companies – he was named interim CEO of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers after owner Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team after making a series of racist remarks.

CBS named former chief operating officer Joseph Ianniello as interim CEO and has made other recent management changes, but is still searching for a permanent chief.

Parsons cited his health was the main reason for his decision to step down.

“As some of you know, when I agreed to join the board and serve as the interim chair, I was already dealing with a serious health challenge – multiple myeloma – but I felt that the situation was manageable,” Parsons said in a statement. “Unfortunately, unanticipated complications have created additional new challenges, and my doctors have advised that cutting back on my current commitments is essential to my overall recovery. I trust CBS’ distinguished Board, now led by Strauss Zelnick, as well as CBS’ strong management team led by Joe Ianniello, will continue to successfully guide this Company into its very bright future.”

Zelnick is a widely respected media industry leader who has held management roles in all forms of entertainment, including recorded music at BMG Entertainment, motion pictures and television programming at 20th Century Fox and international television distribution at Columbia Pictures. In 2001 he founded the media-focused private equity firm ZMC (Zelnick Media Capital), and he currently serves as chairman and CEO of Take-Two Interactive, one of the world’s largest interactive entertainment companies.

CBS has tapped former Time Warner chairman and CEO Richard Parsons to be its interim chairman, as the broadcaster searches for a replacement for ousted chairman and CEO Les Moonves and tries to recover from an embarrassing sexual harassment scandal.

Parsons, who was named Time Warner CEO in 2002 and became chairman in 2003, led the media giant through some of its roughest patches. Parsons was named to the CBS board of directors in the wake of the latest scandal, where Moonves was accused by several women of sexually harassing them over the course of his career. CBS has hired an independent investigator to look into the accusations. Former CBS chief operating officer Joe Ianiello was named interim CEO of the company after Moonves' departure. 

“Dick Parsons has a combination of deep industry knowledge and unmatched corporate and board experience,” said CBS’ Nominating and Governance Committee chair Candace Beinecke in a statement. “We are fortunate to have Dick in this leadership role.”

After retiring from Time Warner in 2008, Parsons has become the go-to executive to step in to lead companies through some tricky situations. Shortly after leaving the media giant Parsons was named chairman of Citibank, steering the financial services behemoth through the overall financial crisis until 2012. And in 2014, NBA commissioner Adam Silver tapped him as interim CEO of the NBA Los Angeles Clippers, after owner Donald Sterling was forced to sell the team after making a series of racist remarks. 

CBS also announced that Bruce Gordon and William Cohen, who have served on the board of directors since the broadcaster became a stand-alone public company in 2006, have decided to step down from their posts to focus on other personal and professional priorities.

“We have a distinguished and independent Board that is steadfast in its commitment to serve the best interests of all shareholders,” Parsons said in a statement. “I think I speak for all Board members when I say I look forward to learning more about CBS’ compelling opportunities and how we can help guide and support the Company’s growth.”