Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Paula Shugart is departing the Miss Universe Organization after 23 years as president, she revealed on Thursday night in El Salvador — where this year’s event is set to take place on Saturday.
Shugart’s exit comes following news that Thailand-based Miss Universe owner JKN Global Group had filed for bankruptcy in its country, but insiders said Shugart’s announcement was unrelated to that news and had been in the works for a long time prior to that news.
Shugart shared the news of her departure while on stage at Thursday night’s National Costume Show portion of the Miss Universe pageant. “In my 25 years at Miss Universe, we expanded global reach for this iconic entertainment brand by focusing on telling the stories of these incredible women,” Shugart said in an exclusive statement to Variety.” But more important than numbers and metrics, I’ve learned what it means to truly be a transformational leader.
Leadership is not just about one person, but putting the needs of the team above all else in creating a vision for the future.
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