Gary B. Pruitt (born c. 1957) is the President and CEO of the Associated Press and was the CEO, president, and chairman of the board of the McClatchy Company.
Pruitt was born in Virginia and grew up in Satellite Beach, Florida. and received a B.A. from the University of Florida and received his masters in public policy from University of California, Berkeley and law degree from the UC Berkeley School of Law.
Pruitt was counsel for McClatchy from 1984 to 1987, corporate Secretary and General Counsel from 1987 to 1998, publisher for the Fresno Bee from 1991 to 1994, general counsel from 1987 to 1991, and Vice President, Operations and Technology from 1991 to 1994. He was Chief Operating Officer from 1995 to 1996. He became President starting in 1995, Chief Executive Officer in 1996, and Chairman in 2001.
In April 2012 it was announced he was going to become CEO of the Associated Press. Kevin McClatchy assumed his chairman of the board role and Patrick J.Talamantes assumed the CEO role.
Public Service
He is a former chairman of the Newspaper Association of America and James Irvine Foundation and a former vice chairman of the Associated Press Board of Directors. He serves on the Advisory Board of the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.