Elisabeth Murdoch hands over Shine reins Elisabeth Murdoch is handing over day-to-day management of Shine, the television and film production company she founded, stirring speculation about her future role at News Corp, her father's media empire. Ms Murdoch said she would remain focused on Shine's "creative talent, culture and strategy" as chairman even when Alex Mahon steps up to become chief executive officer. Ms Mahon is a longtime executive at the group behind The Hour, MasterChef and Merlin. "As Shine further diversifies across genres, geographies and platforms, I believe that the continued growth of the company requires the chairman and CEO roles to be distinct and separate," Ms Murdoch said in a statement. News Corp bought Shine for $673m in February 2011, of which $214m went to Ms Murdoch. People close to the family said she regretted the timing of the move, which left her embroiled in a shareholder lawsuit alleging nepotism and involved her in the intense scrutiny of News Corp amid investigations into illegality at its UK newspapers. Two people close to Ms Murdoch said her change of role at Shine was not a step towards her taking on greater responsibilities at News Corp in the near future, with one saying that it could allow her to play a more independent role distinct from the family company. "This is a sign that she is starting to clarify who she is again," this person said, pointing to Ms Murdoch's plan to give the keynote MacTaggart lecture at this summer's Edinburgh International Television Festival, a highlight of the British broadcasting calendar. The growth of Shine, which reported revenues of £507m last year, 28 per cent up from £396m in 2010, has cemented Ms Murdoch's creative and commercial reputation. Mr Murdoch reiterated his desire to see his children involved in News Corp "if they want to be" during a Financial Times interview when he announced the spliting of News Corp into two last month. He noted in a CNBC interview on that day that Elisabeth had a role in the company, but added that some of his children may not want to run News Corp's businesses. Mr Murdoch was "in great shape," he said, adding: "I'll head the board until they bury me." Ms Murdoch is an observer on the News Corp board and was due to become a director until she withdrew her nomination after the phone hacking scandal broke last July. "She felt it would be inappropriate to include her nomination to the board of News Corp at this year's AGM," the independent directors said last August, adding that they had "delayed" her nomination. Ms Mahon, a former talkback Thames and FremantleMedia executive who became managing director of Shine TV in 2006, will assume the role in September when she returns from maternity leave.