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# Fox Legal Chief Ciongoli Leaves With $12,595,784 Equity Payout; Trutanich Named General Counsel
- URL: https://www.bullished.co/fox-legal-chief-ciongoli-leaves-with-12-595-784-equity-payout-trutanich-named-general-cfec2712/
- Published: 2026-10-20T10:22:55.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-28T19:58:35.000Z
- Description: Fox's chief legal and policy officer will not renew his contract, and an in-house deputy takes the top legal job on December 1.
- Author: Matteo Parrino
- Tags: SEC Filings, FOXA, Industry: Communication Services

[Fox Corporation](https://www.bullished.co/tag/foxa/) will pay Adam Ciongoli [$12,595,784 in cash](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001754301/000162828026066365/fox-20261019.htm?ref=bullished.co) to cancel his outstanding equity awards as he steps down as chief legal and policy officer, according to an [8-K](https://www.bullished.co/learn/8-k-items-explained/) filed Monday. Nicholas Trutanich, now a deputy general counsel, becomes General Counsel on December 1.

## What the 8-K says

In a [press release](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001754301/000162828026066365/fox-8xkex991october192026t.htm?ref=bullished.co) attached to the filing, Fox said Ciongoli is not renewing his contract and leaves the role effective December 1\. He then serves as a special advisor through June 2028.

The filing lays out a Transition and Separation Agreement dated October 19\. It gives Ciongoli a separation payment equal to one year of base salary plus his target annual bonus for fiscal 2027, and the $12,595,784 cash payment for cancelling his equity awards.

Fox will also pay for his COBRA health coverage through the earliest of June 1, 2028, the date he becomes eligible for coverage from a new employer, and the maximum COBRA period. His vested stock options stay exercisable for three years after the separation date, but not beyond each option's original term.

A separate Advisory Services Agreement runs eighteen months from December 1\. It pays $1,750,000 a year, in monthly installments of $145,833.33, for help on legal, policy and regulatory matters.

## Trutanich's terms and the reporting changes

Trutanich's employment agreement sets a base salary of $1,400,000 and a target bonus of $1,400,000\. He is also eligible for an annual long-term incentive target award of $2,200,000 under the Fox Corporation 2019 Shareholder Alignment Plan or another long-term plan.

He will report to Executive Chair and CEO Lachlan Murdoch. Trutanich joined Fox in 2021 as chief ethics and compliance officer, and most recently led its litigation and ethics and compliance functions as Executive Vice President and Principal Deputy General Counsel. From 2019 to 2021 he was U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, the company said.

Murdoch thanked Ciongoli for "his many immense contributions over the last three years." Of Trutanich, he said he "will bring deep legal, litigation and compliance experience to this expanded role."

## What to watch

Both changes take effect December 1\. That day, Kristopher Jones, Executive Vice President and Head of Government Relations, also starts reporting directly to John Nallen, President and Chief Operating Officer.

The pay terms of the transition are fixed in agreements dated October 19, and the handover itself is set for December 1.

Learn

- [Item 5.02: directors and officers leave or join, or executive pay is set →](https://www.bullished.co/learn/8-k-items-explained/#item-502-directors-and-officers-leave-or-join-or-executive-pay-is-set)  
From 8-K Items Explained: What Every Item Code From 1.01 To 9.01 Tells You, With Examples

### Sources

- [8-K Filing — Fox Corp (FOXA)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001754301/000162828026066365/fox-20261019.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR
- [Exhibit fox-8xkex991october192026t.htm — Fox Corp 8-K exhibit](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001754301/000162828026066365/fox-8xkex991october192026t.htm?ref=bullished.co) — SEC EDGAR

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- [Fox Class B Holders Back Roku Stock Issuance With 99.9% Of Votes Cast](https://www.bullished.co/fox-class-b-holders-back-roku-stock-issuance-with-99-9-of-votes-cast-d4ed038b/)
- [Fox Discloses $30 Million Morgan Stanley Advisory Fee, Up To $50 Million More In Financing Fees](https://www.bullished.co/fox-discloses-30-million-morgan-stanley-advisory-fee-up-to-50-million-more-in-financing-72f21844/)

[All Fox Corp. Class A (FOXA) coverage →](https://www.bullished.co/tag/foxa/)