Shane Smith is preparing to cede his position as Vice Media’s chief executive officer to Nancy Dubuc, who announced on Monday that she was stepping down as chief executive of A&E Networks, according to people briefed on the matter.

Mr. Smith, 48, is expected to remain at Vice Media — potentially as its chairman, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the moves were not yet final. Ms. Dubuc, 49, was in talks to take on the chief executive job after she leaves A&E Networks, the television group owned by Hearst and Disney, the people said.

Ms. Dubuc has built close ties with Vice since A&E Networks invested $250 million in the company in 2014. Ms. Dubuc, who serves on the board of Vice and is known to be close with Mr. Smith, oversaw the joint venture that started the Viceland TV network in 2016.

In recent years, Mr. Smith emerged not only as the face of Vice but as the media mogul for the digital age. The combination of a brash maverick and a consummate salesman, Mr. Smith helped transform Vice from a freebie punk magazine started in Montreal in 1994 into a global company with about 3,000 employees, a TV network, a digital outlet, a film-production company and programs on HBO. Vice is backed by corporate giants like Disney and Fox.