Lester Holt, the longtime anchor of NBC Nightly News, will be stepping away from the broadcast at the beginning of the summer, the network announced Monday.
Holt, 65, has been the primary anchor on the show for 10 years. While leaving the anchor chair, he plans remain at NBC on the news magazine show Dateline.
“A smile comes to my face when I think that with Nightly News, and Dateline, I have now anchored two of the most successful and iconic television news programs in broadcast history,” Holt wrote to staffers Monday, according to NBC News. “As a 20-year-old radio reporter on the police beat chasing breaking news around San Francisco, I could never have imagined my career path would unfold in the way it has. What an amazing ride.”
Related: Joy Reid Addresses MSNBC Exit: ‘My Show Had Value’
In a memo to staff, NBC News executive Janelle Rodriguez called Holt the “heart” of the network’s news division.
“Because of Lester’s steady and thoughtful leadership, Nightly News has sustained its perch as a trusted and top news destination for millions of viewers across America,” Rodriguez said. “Quite simply, Lester is the beating heart of this news organization.”
Holt joined NBC News in 2000, became the main anchor of Dateline in 2011, and then became the Nightly News anchor in June 2015.
Prior to that, Holt was the co-anchor on Weekend Today for 12 years. Earlier in his career, he worked in local news in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.
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