Chris Licht, president and CEO of CNN Worldwide (Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery)

(CNN) -- Chris Licht, CNN's embattled chairman and CEO, whose brief one-year tenure at the network was tainted by a series of serious mistakes, is leaving the company.

"I've met with Chris and he's leaving CNN," David Zaslav, chief executive of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, told CNN employees at the start of the network's daily editorial conference.

Licht's departure, which came days after a devastating 15,000-word profile published in The Atlantic, capped a tumultuous year for CNN, marked by layoffs, historically low ratings and ailing employee morale.

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In the wake of The Atlantic's article, Licht apologized to staff on Monday, telling the global news organization in a somber tone that he didn't recognize himself when reading parts of the story and that he regretted being distracted from the newsroom's work.

Licht, who described the experience as "tremendously humiliating," vowed to "fight like hell" to gain employees' trust.

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But it was becoming increasingly clear that Licht's tenure as chief executive was rapidly coming to an end. Licht has not commented on his departure and did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Zaslav said Licht's job was "never going to be easy" and praised the "incredible career" he has had, wishing him the best in his future projects.

"For a number of reasons, things didn't work out and that's unfortunate," Zaslav said. "It's a pity. Ultimately, it's my fault. And I take full responsibility for it."

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Zaslav told CNN employees that the company is "in the process of conducting a broad search," both internally and externally, for a new head of the network. He warned that "it will take a while."

Meanwhile, Zazlav said the management team will consist of Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development; Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of writing; and Eric Sherling, executive vice president of U.S. programming, and David Leavy, recently appointed chief operating officer, will continue to oversee the company's business activities.

CNN