'This is the leading candidate to replace Maffei as Liberty Media CEO'

On Wednesday, Liberty Media, the owner of Formula 1's commercial rights, confirmed they will have a new CEO. Greg Maffei, the current top boss, will step down at the end of 2024. John Malone will take office on an interim basis, so it is likely that the company will seek a permanent successor to Maffei. It seems a leading candidate has already emerged.

Maffei will step down at the end of this year and will act as Senior Advisor from 1 January to support the transition to new leadership. Under Maffei’s leadership, Liberty Media has grown into one of the largest media, communications, sports and entertainment companies in the world. In addition to Formula 1, Liberty Media’s portfolio also includes Formula E and MotoGP.

According to the Daily Mail, a leading candidate to replace Maffei has already emerged. The British outlet suggests Renee Wilm is the front-runner to become Liberty Media's CEO. She is currently the CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. That event is the next race on the F1 calendar.

Wilm is currently the Chief Legal Officer and Chief Administrative Officer at Liberty Media and the CEO of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Formula 1 themselves promote the event in the Sin City and Wilm oversees the commercial and operational matters relating to the event. Wilm has a history of working with law firms and has represented Liberty Media for over 20 years.

Wilm has spoken to the media during the last week about the Las Vegas Grand Prix. She suggested they are happy not to turn the event in Vegas into a sprint race weekend as that would create a lot of nervousness. She also explained how they are open to making preparations to celebrate Max Verstappen's 2024 title win should he secure it in Vegas.