Don Nash and his wife at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Libby Leist, the senior producer for NBC’s The TODAY Show, will be moving into her new role as executive producer for the show’s 7am and 8am hours according to a statement by NBC Chairman Andy Lack on Wednesday, January 17th. Libby will be replacing 23-year TODAY veteran Don Nash, a longtime producer for Matt Lauer, who has produced The TODAY Show since 2012. Nash will be retiring to spend more time with his family.
According to Lack, “Libby brings tremendous talent and experience to this role, having served as senior producer of the 7am hour for the last 5 years. She has led the show’s political coverage and special events, including candidate town halls and TODAY’s historic broadcast from inside the White House. Libby has spent her career at NBC News, starting as a desk assistant in DC in 2001, and later rising to become Andrea Mitchell’s State Department producer – a role for which she traveled the world – and then several senior producer roles in the bureau, including MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown and Capitol Hill producer.”
The move follows NBC’s decision to make Hoda Kotb a permanent anchor on the show alongside Savannah Guthrie this January, making this the first time The TODAY Show has an all-female duo.
Read Andy Lack’s full statement below:
The TODAY show couldn’t be in a stronger position. Savannah and Hoda have seamlessly taken their seats and we’re off to a fantastic start in 2018. This is a tribute to them and the whole team at TODAY.
With this change in anchors, and having rethought some of his priorities, Don Nash has decided to step away from his Executive Producer role at TODAY.
I cannot thank Don enough for everything he contributed in nearly 30 years at TODAY – almost half of the show’s 66-year history. He led the TODAY team through many transitions and got the show back to number one. He leaves with every aspect of the show on top and with a legacy he should be proud of. As you all know so well, among many other skills Don is one of the best live control room producers in the business. We’ve offered him a number of roles within NBC News and NBCUniversal, and we hope he’ll stay in the family.
Don leaves a big hole at TODAY, but we are so fortunate to have extraordinary producers who can step up.
We are pleased to announce that Libby Leist is being promoted to EP of TODAY’s 7am and 8am hours. Libby brings tremendous talent and experience to this role, having served as senior producer of the 7am hour for the last 5 years. She has led the show’s political coverage and special events, including candidate town halls and TODAY’s historic broadcast from inside the White House. Libby has spent her career at NBC News, starting as a desk assistant in DC in 2001, and later rising to become Andrea Mitchell’s State Department producer – a role for which she traveled the world – and then several senior producer roles in the bureau, including MSNBC’s The Daily Rundown and Capitol Hill producer.
Libby will report to Noah, and will work closely with Tom Mazzarelli who will continue in his pivotal role for the show; as well as with Jackie Levin, EP of the 9am, Tammy Filler, EP of the 10am and Matt Carluccio, EP of weekends.
Please join me in wishing Don every success in his next endeavor and congratulating Libby on her promotion.
Andy
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