News Corporation’s veteran European chairman Marty Pompadur is stepping down after a decade with the company, with Tom Mockridge taking greater control of the outfit. Mockridge was upped from Sky Italia chief to CEO of News Corp.‘s European TV business in May; the company today said it was a “planned transition”. Pompadur’s own statement: “It’s been a wonderful 10 years, however, at this point in my life, I have a number of personal goals yet to fulfill requiring me to step back from News Corporation.” Mockridge, also a News Corp (NYSE: NWS) EVP, will stay on as an adviser. Mockridge has been active since his promotion - increasing News Corp.‘s stake in Germany’s Premier pay-TV outfit, taking control of Latvia’s TV Riga and bringing BSkyB (NYSE: BSY) to flirt with buying Spain’s DigitalPlus. Release.

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