Vince McMahon being reinstated to the WWE Board of Directors has sent shockwaves across pro wrestling and also within the company. WWE's official press release confirmed the departures of Ignace Lahoud and Man Jit Singh, who both resigned from the promotion's board in the wake of McMahon's return.
The 77-year-old veteran has used his stakeholder power to force his way back into the WWE corporate setup, and there is obvious concern about whether it will impact the creative operations.
The motive behind Vince's return is said to be purely business-related, and his presence has already led to a few exits, as WWE confirmed below:
"Ignace Lahoud and Man Jit Singh have resigned from the Board, effective today."
As revealed by Sean Ross Sapp, Man Jit Singh spearheaded the investigation into the 'hush money' allegations against Vince McMahon.
Ignace Lahoud and Man Jit Singh have resigned from the Board of WWE as of today.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) January 6, 2023
Man Jit Singh was the leading investigator on the Vince McMahon investigation internally
Singh was a well-known media executive who worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment before being elected to WWE's Board of Directors in 2018. Ignace Lahoud, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim, joined the Board as an independent member in 2022.
While this has not been explicitly mentioned, the two high-profile resignations might have a lot to do with VKM's resurgence, which has visibly led to significant changes to the Board.
Following recent alterations, WWE's Board of Directors now consists of nine members, as stated below:
- Vince McMahon
- Stephanie McMahon
- Nick Khan
- Paul Levesque
- Steve Koonin
- Michelle McKenna
- Steve Pamon
- George Barrios
- Michelle Wilson
Who did Vince McMahon remove from the WWE's Board of Directors?
Lahoud and Singh weren't the only high-ranking officials to leave the Board as Mr. McMahon removed three other members to expedite his comeback.
WWE's statement confirmed that McMahon exercised his power as the "controlling shareholder" to oust Alan M. Wexler, JoEllen Lyons Dillon, and Jeffrey R. Speed. Former co-presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios were brought in to replace the outgoing members as Vince also successfully regained his spot on the Board:
"Vince McMahon, in his capacity as controlling shareholder of the Company, has removed JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R. Speed and Alan M. Wexler from the Board. Vince McMahon, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson have been added to the Board to fill the resulting vacancies," read the company statement.