CNBC hires Bengtson to be VP of programming

Nik Deogun, senior vice president and editor in chief of business news at CNBC, made the internal announcement:

I am delighted to announce the addition of a seasoned and respected journalist to the Business News senior management team.

Craig Bengtson — a veteran of ESPN, ABC and CBS — will be Vice President of Programming, a newly created position reporting to me. In this capacity, Craig will be responsible for the daily production of the network’s Business Day programs. The executive producers of those programs will report to Craig, who will start on February 12.

As we have grown rapidly and continue to look for strategic ways to extend the CNBC brand, I want to make sure that the management of our core programming is as robust as ever. The addition of Craig to our excellent senior management team is designed to ensure there is focused oversight and creativity around our dayside programs.

Craig will, of course, work closely with our newsroom editorial leaders — Vice President and Managing Editor Nick Dunn, who serves as point person on all day-to-day editorial matters, Lacy O’Toole,  Vice President of News Coverage, who manages newsgathering and field operations, and Scott Matthews, Vice President of Specials, who also oversees our syndicated programs “On the Money” and “Nightly Business Report.”

Craig comes to us from ESPN where he was Vice President and Managing Editor of News and Reporting. Named to the position in 2014, he has been responsible for E:60 and Outside the Lines, along with the Enterprise and Investigative Units. He also oversaw the Universal News Group, assignment desk, Features Unit and domestic bureaus.

Previously, Craig was Vice President of SportsCenter, responsible for the editorial content and production of ESPN’s flagship news and information program. He joined ESPN in 2006 as a Senior Coordinating Producer.

Prior to ESPN, Craig was an Executive Producer at ABC News in charge of World News Tonight, Saturday/Sunday; and a Senior Producer responsible for domestic news coverage on World News Tonight with Peter Jennings. Before joining ABC, he was a Producer for the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather.

Craig began his career as a News Director, Anchor and Reporter for WKXL Radio in Concord, N.H., before joining CBS News Radio as a Writer and Producer in 1987.

Craig has received multiple Emmy Awards, along with a Peabody Award for his work at ABC News on the coverage of September 11, 2001, and an Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award for his role as the Executive Producer in charge of the coverage of the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI. He also oversaw the news coverage of the death of President Ronald Reagan, the Asia Tsunami, and the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Craig holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Please join me in welcoming Craig to CNBC.