CNET president Larkin departs a second time

Mark Larkin, who returned to CNET in 2023 as president to help parent company Red Ventures determine its next move, has left the tech news organization again.

CNET was sold to Ziff Davis last year. Larkin had earlier left in 2021 to join a startup.

“CNET is packed with talented and dedicated people, people who care, people who reach beyond, people who back each other up and people who tell the truth. It is and always will be a special place,” he wrote on LinkedIn.

Larkin was previously executive vice president and general manager of the CNET Media Group at CBS Interactive, where he oversees the leading consumer tech, business-to-business, games and entertainment media brands including CNET, ZDNet, GameSpot and TV Guide, among others.

Under his direction, CNET has evolved from a consumer electronics vertical to the world’s largest technology media brand that explores the vital role tech plays in every area of modern life. In 2017, the site had its largest user-and-revenue-generating year in its 23-year history and attracts an audience that is twice as large as that of its closest competitor.

Previously, Larkin was vice president of programming for CNET, where he was responsible for developing and executing the broadband video strategy for CNET and CNET TV.

He joined CNET Networks in 1996 and was instrumental in the creation and development of CNET TV and numerous original video series focusing on lifestyle content.