For more than a decade, NBC anchor Lester Holt has been the face of the network's primetime "Nightly News" program, but that era has now drawn to a close.

On Friday, Holt signed off for the final time to conclude a 14-year run in the "NBC Nightly News" anchor chair, and wished "great success" to his named replacement in that role, Tom Llamas, The Hill reported.

The 65-year-old Holt is not retiring from the news business altogether, however, but instead is stepping away from the nightly anchor position to focus more on long-form journalism for NBC's "Dateline" newsmagazine program.

Holt signs off for the final time

"After 10 years, this is my last 'Nightly News' broadcast," Holt, who took over full-time anchor duties from the disgraced Brian Williams in 2015, told his audience on Friday, according to USA Today. "As anchor, it has been an honor to lead this program and an honor to be welcomed into your homes. I'm so grateful for your trust."

"Around here, facts matter, words matter, journalism matters, and you matter," he said. "Over the last decade, we have shared some dark and harrowing days and nights in our country. The pandemic, mass shootings, natural disasters, each testing our resilience and our compassion. That's why I often like to leave you with something to smile about, moments that reassure and connect us."

"I'll miss our evenings together, and I will miss the team that puts it all together, my dear friends and my colleagues," Holt continued. "But for now, I just want to say thank you to my incredibly supportive and patient family and all of you."

"I'll see you on 'Dateline.' In the meantime, please continue to take care of yourselves -- and each other. And I'll do the same," he added.

USA Today reported that Holt's remarks were followed by a brief montage of highlights from the past decade, after which he was joined on the set by his wife and colleagues, upon which he concluded, "Oh my goodness, it has been quite a ride. Thanks, everybody."

Moving over to "Dateline"

Earlier in May, Holt sat down with Variety for an interview about his planned exit from "NBC Nightly News" and the impending transition to work full-time on more in-depth reporting for "Dateline," where he has long been a part-time contributor.

"It wasn’t like one moment of epiphany. I never saw myself doing this job forever," Holt said of his decision to leave the anchor desk and shift back into reporter mode. "I decided that I needed to come off the ‘Nightly’ gig, but I still had gas in the tank."

He anticipates working out "some different news muscles," and explained, "We’re still doing journalism, but these are hour and two-hour shows we’re doing. Some of the stories you’ll see me doing will be months in the making."

Holt also dismissed the critics who suggest that "Nightly News" and his own career will suffer once he's no longer the anchor, and quipped, "People say it’s been a great run. It’s like, well, I’m still running."

Will be replaced by Tom Llamas

As for Holt's replacement, NBC News first announced in March and has since confirmed that senior national correspondent Tom Llamas, who often filled in for Holt over the past few years while also hosting his "Top Story" program, will take over as the full-time "Nightly News" anchor and managing editor on June 2.

At the time of that initial announcement, Llamas said anchoring the "Nightly News" was a "profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility," and further stated, "I look forward to working with the world class journalists at 'Nightly News' and 'Top Story' to bring viewers the most important stories every night."