Hearst makes big changes in magazine division

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Hearst Corporation has hired David Carey away from Condé Nast to become President of the magazine division of Hearst Publishing. The move was a surprise, leaving Condé Nast without an heir apparent to CEO Chuck Townsend. Cathleen Black remains with Hearst, but moves up to Chair of the division as Carey takes over day-to-day operating responsibility.


Here is the announcement from Hearst Corporation:

“MANAGEMENT CHANGES ANNOUNCED AT HEARST MAGAZINES
NEW YORK, June 28, 2010—Hearst Corporation, one of the nation’s largest diversified media companies, announced today that the longtime president of its worldwide magazine group, Cathleen P. Black, has been promoted to chairman of Hearst Magazines, and veteran publishing executive David Carey succeeds Black as president.  The changes, effective immediately, were announced by Frank A. Bennack, Jr., vice chairman and CEO of the parent company, Hearst Corporation. 
 
“We are excited by the formation of this team at the top of our magazine company,” Bennack said. “Cathie Black has brought strong leadership to Hearst Magazines for the past 15 years and having David Carey join her gives us the strongest possible management combination to lead our array of premium titles and our distribution and marketing services businesses at a time of great change and opportunity.  We’re pleased to welcome David, who is a Hearst alumnus, back to the company.”

Hearst also announced today that Michael A. Clinton has been promoted to president, marketing and publishing director of Hearst Magazines.  Duncan J. Edwards remains president and CEO of Hearst Magazines International, and John P. Loughlin continues as executive vice president and general manager of the group. 

“Being named chairman is very exciting for me,” Black commented. “Frank and I have been talking about this move during the past year and it seems like exactly the right time.  I look forward to providing leadership and strategic advice to both David and the senior leaders as we work together to strengthen and expand our magazine brands, both in the U.S. and abroad.”

“I’m thrilled to join Hearst at such a dynamic time,” Carey added. “Frank Bennack and Cathie Black are defining the magazine company of the future, and I look forward to working closely with them, and so many talented executives, in that mission.”
 
Most recently, Carey was group president at Condé Nast, where he was a member of that company’s senior management team and also oversaw media properties targeted to business and executive audiences, including Wired and Golf Digest.  Additionally, he was co-leader on all business development efforts at Condé Nast.  During his career, he served for seven years as vice president and publisher of The New Yorker, returning it to profitability after many years of losses; led the launch of Portfolio and portfolio.com; and was the founding publisher of SmartMoney, at the time a joint venture between Hearst and The Wall Street Journal, which reached profitability after two years and was named “Magazine of the Year” by Advertising Age.  Among other honors, Carey was named industry “Executive of the Year” by Adweek.
 
Along with her oversight of Hearst’s 14 U.S. magazine titles, nearly 200 international editions in more than 100 countries, Hearst Magazines’ digital media unit and its varied distribution and marketing services businesses, Black serves as senior vice president of parent company Hearst Corporation and a member of the Corporation’s Board of Directors. She is credited with the launches of O, The Oprah Magazine, widely regarded as one of the most successful magazine launches in publishing history, and, most recently, Food Network Magazine, which in its first full year of publishing climbed to a circulation of 1.3 million.  Across its portfolio, Hearst Magazines is showing a nearly 12 percent increase in advertising pages for the first half of 2010 versus the same period last year. 
 
Black was named president of Hearst Magazines in December 1995 after serving five years as president and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America.  She made publishing history in 1979 when she became the first woman publisher of a weekly consumer magazine, New York.  Her career has included eight years as president and publisher of USA Today, and service as a board member and executive vice president of Gannett Co., Inc., USA Today’s parent company.  Black was chairman of the Magazine Publishers of America from 1999 to 2001 and currently serves on the boards of IBM and The Coca-Cola Company.  She has received numerous industry, civic and charitable honors and is listed on virtually every list of powerful and influential women.”