• by Wayne Friedman , May 4, 2020

Gil Schwartz, former longtime chief communication officer of CBS and author, died Saturday of natural causes. He was 68.

Schwartz has been the most senior communications executive for 22 years, ending his career at CBS two years ago. He came to CBS in 1996, from Westinghouse Broadcasting Group, a company he had been with for 14 years.

In addition, Schwartz has been long-time author and columnist under the pseudonym Stanley Bing -- writing about corporate life and other topics. He penned 13 books and had a regular column in Fortune magazine.

"For the better part of three decades, Gil Schwartz led CBS Communications with creative flare, craftsman-like expertise and an abundance of personality,” CBS said in a statement. “He was a counselor to senior management, a mentor to future PR executives and a popular presence in every hallway."

Schwartz retired from CBS in November 2018 after a major corporate furor erupted where his longtime boss, Les Moonves, chairman/chief executive officer of CBS resigned in September of that year after sexual misconduct allegations.

In 2019 Viacom and CBS announced a re-merger of the two companies, finalized in December of that year.