Barry Myers Steps Down as AccuWeather CEO, Divests from Company

Awaiting re-nomination by President Donald Trump to lead the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), AccuWeather CEO Barry Lee Myers has stepped down as an officer and director of the State College-based weather media company, effective Jan. 1.

He also has sold all of his interest in AccuWeather and its subsidiaries and affiliates, the company announced on Friday.

Myers was nominated by Trump in October 2017 to be Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, a position that holds a dual role as administrator of NOAA, which includes services for weather, ocean and environmental research and information. Among those is the National Weather Service.

He was approved by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in January 2018 and his nomination was forwarded to the full Senate for confirmation. But like many others, his nomination was never brought to the floor for a full Senate vote. With a new Congress in session, he and others will require re-nomination by Trump before advancing again in the Senate.

Myers committed to fully divest from AccuWeather and all related interests in his testimony to Senate committees and in the ethics pledge to the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. His wife, Holly, formerly director of executive projects, also left AccuWeather on Jan. 1 after 35 years.

Barry Myers has been part of the AccuWeather leadership for nearly 30 years, first as executive vice president and general counsel, before becoming CEO in 2007. He is the brother of AccuWeather founder, president and chairman Joel Myers.

“Barry has served AccuWeather expertly, helping me guide it from an idea at my kitchen table to the successful global company it is today,’ Joel Myers said. ‘I am very grateful for his significant contributions to AccuWeather, including his leadership, ideas, business acumen and his commitment to our global expansion. His presence will be missed.  As his brother and the person who has known him longer than anyone else, I can attest to his vast knowledge and believe he would be a terrific asset in service to our country.”  

A member of the Penn State Smeal College of Business and Graduate School faculty for 18 years, Barry Myers has a degree in business administration and economics from Penn State and law degree from Boston University School of Law.

A White House news release announcing Myers’ nomination in 2017 called him ‘one of the world’s leading authorities on the use of weather information,’ and noted AccuWeather’s rapid growth in revenues and digital audiences since he became CEO.

Though Myers’ background is business-oriented, he has been an advisor to NOAA and five National Weather Service directors and a representative to the U.N.’s World Meteorological Organization.

In 2016, the American Meteorological Society (AMS) named Myers an AMS Fellow for ‘having made outstanding contributions to the atmospheric or related oceanic or hydrologic sciences or their applications during a substantial period of years.’ In 2015, the AMS recognized Myers for leadership in the weather industry and fostering cooperation between private and government weather services.

Myers also has been an invited speaker at the World Meteorological Organization and World Federation of Scientists, among other science and business organizations. He has served on the board of directors of the American Weather and Climate Industry Association, the weather industry’s trade association, and was its chief government relations officer.

Editor’s note: Dan Myers, owner of StateCollege.com parent company Lazerpro Digital Media Group, is the nephew of Barry Lee Myers and the son of Joel Myers.