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Who is Stephanie McMahon? Vince McMahon's daughter to act as interim WWE CEO amid misconduct claims

Vince’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon will assume the role of interim CEO and interim chairwoman said WWE

Vince McMahon has " voluntarily stepped back" from his position as CEO and Chairman of the Board until the conclusion of the investigation, announced the board of Directors of WWE on Friday, June 17. A Special Committee of the Board of the World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (WWE) is investigating McMahon after uncovering a secret $3 million settlement between McMahon and his former female employee with whom he reportedly had a secret affair. In addition to McMahon, WWE's investigation has also implicated John Laurenitis, the company's General Manager of Talent Relations as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, June 15.

WWE said that the Special Committee has appointed Stephanie McMahon, Vince’s daughter for the role of interim CEO and interim chairwoman. She was brought back to the company a month after announcing a leave of absence as WWE’s chief brand officer to “focus on family.” McMahon will retain his role and responsibilities related to WWE’s creative content during the investigation and remains “committed to cooperating with the review underway,” the company said Friday, June 17.

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In a statement released by WWE McMahon said, “I have pledged my complete cooperation to the investigation by the Special Committee, and I will do everything possible to support the investigation. I have also pledged to accept the findings and outcome of the investigation, whatever they are."

Stephanie announced her taking over as the role of CEO of WWE on Twitter. She wrote, "Until the conclusion of the investigation into recent allegations, I am honored to assume the role of interim Chairwoman & CEO. I love @WWE and all it continues to do to entertain billions around the world." She made no mention of the scandal her dad was facing and kept her statement professional and brief.

Stephanie said in a statement, “I love this company and am committed to working with the Independent Directors to strengthen our culture and our Company; it is extremely important to me that we have a safe and collaborative workplace. I have committed to doing everything in my power to help the Special Committee complete its work, including marshaling the cooperation of the entire company to assist in the completion of the investigation and to implement its findings."

Who is Stephanie McMahon?

Stephanie Marie McMahon was born on September 24, 1976, and is an American businesswoman and retired professional wrestler. Her mother Linda Marie McMahon is an American political executive, former Trump administration official, and former professional wrestling executive and performer. Before being appointed as the interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairwoman of WWE, Stephanie had been WWE's, Chief Brand Officer since 2014. She is married to WWE executive/wrestler Paul "Triple H" Levesque since 2003 and is a mother of three daughters, Vaughn Evelyn Levesque, Murphy Claire Levesque, and Aurora Rose Levesque. In November 2000, she became head writer of the company, replacing Chris Kreski. After spending time as the director of creative writing, a job she had by 2002,[14] she was promoted to Senior Vice President of Creative Writing in 2006. Stephanie then began appearing regularly on Raw in 2008 as the Raw brand general manager.

Stephanie, in fact, owns 2.47% of the WWE. Her roughly 2.5 million shares of WWE stock at various times have been worth as little as $40 million and as much as $225 million, as reported by Celebrity Net Worth.

While Stephanie's role has been described as a short-term one, former WWE Women’s Champion Mickie James sent in her congratulations on social media. James believes “change is in the air”.

After WWE announced the board’s investigation into McMahon, the company posted a tweet saying that he would appear on Friday’s “SmackDown” live on Fox at 8 pm ET. The company seems to be rallying around McMahon for now.

“WWE and its board of directors take all allegations of misconduct very seriously,” the company said in a statement. “The independent directors of the board engaged independent legal counsel to assist them with an independent review. In addition, the special committee and WWE will work with an independent third-party to conduct a comprehensive review of the company’s compliance program, the HR function, and overall culture.” "The Company and the Board do not expect to have further comment until the investigation is concluded", the statement added.

According to the allegations, McMahon set a separation agreement with a female employee in January 2022 that included a $3 million payment. WWE board members first learned of the settlement offer through a series of anonymous emails received from an individual claiming to be a friend of the former employee, according to the Journal. As per the January 2022 separation agreement between McMahon and the former employee, who was hired as a paralegal in 2019, the now-former employee is barred from discussing her relationship with McMahon or disparaging him.

The board’s investigation, which began in April, has unearthed other, older nondisclosure agreements involving claims by former female WWE employees of misconduct by McMahon and one of his top executives, John Laurinaitis, the head of talent relations at WWE, the Journal reported.