Duncan Edwards Named President & CEO of Hearst Magazines

Hearst has tapped Duncan Edwards to succeed George J. Green as the president and CEO of Hearst Magazines International. Per the release:Edwards, currently chief executive of The National Magazine Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hearst, will assume his new role on February 1, 2009 and will relocate from London to New York. At the same time, Edwards will be appointed executive vice president of Hearst Magazines and vice chairman of The National Magazine Company. Also on February 1, Green, who has held his position since 1989, will become chairman of HMI.Full release after the jump. DUNCAN EDWARDS TO SUCCEED GEORGE J. GREEN AS PRESIDENT & CEO OF HEARST MAGAZINES INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK, January 15, 2009 -- Duncan Edwards has been named president & CEO of Hearst Magazines (HMI), succeeding George J. Green, today announced Cathleen P. Black, president of Hearst Magazines. Edwards, currently chief executive of The National Magazine Company Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hearst, will assume his new role on February 1, 2009 and will relocate from London to New York. At the same time, Edwards will be appointed executive vice president of Hearst Magazines and vice chairman of The National Magazine Company. Also on February 1, Green, who has held his position since 1989, will become chairman of HMI. He and Edwards will share responsibilities during a transition period ending June 30, 2009, when Green will retire and become a consultant to Hearst. â€œBoth Duncan and George have been instrumental in expanding and strengthening Hearstâ€™s magazine business in the international market,â€ said Frank A. Bennack, Jr., vice chairman and chief executive officer of Hearst Corporation, parent company of Hearst Magazines, and chairman of The National Magazine Company. â€œWe are grateful to George for his exceptional track record during his nearly 25 years at the company. I have no doubt that Duncan will do a spectacular job building on what George has created at Hearst Magazines International. I am also pleased that Georgeâ€™s good counsel, on both our international and domestic businesses, will continue to be available to Hearst.â€ Since 2005, Edwards has been chief executive of The National Magazine Company Limited (NatMag), which publishes 19 magazines in the United Kingdom, reaching 14 million adults. He joined NatMag in 1989 and has served in various executive roles since then, including publisher of Company magazine, director of business development and managing director. He was named chief executive in 2005. He spent the early part of his career at Media Week Ltd. Edwards earned a dual honors degree in geography and politics from Sheffield University. During Edwardsâ€™ time at the company, NatMag has grown from publishing nine magazines in 2000 to 19 in 2009, through a mix of launches, acquisitions and joint ventures. Some of NatMagâ€™s most successful and respected brands include Good Housekeeping, Harperâ€™s BAZAAR (formerly Harperâ€™s & Queen), Esquire and Menâ€™s Health, a joint venture with Rodale. In addition, its digital business has expanded to include not only online versions of its major magazines but also the U.K.â€™s leading womenâ€™s interest portal, handbag.com, and the leading consumer health Web site, netdoctor.co.uk. â€œDuncan has done an outstanding job of building a thriving business both in print and online at NatMag,â€ said Black. â€œHis extensive experience in the international publishing market and with joint ventures makes him the ideal person to take over Hearst Magazines International. Weâ€™re confident that he will continue to expand Hearstâ€™s presence around the world.â€ Green has had a long and distinguished career at Hearst Corporation and during his tenure has grown the companyâ€™s international magazine division from 28 editions to more than 200 around the world, making HMI the largest U.S. publisher of magazines worldwide. He joined Hearst Magazines in 1984 as executive vice president/group publishing director and was elected president of Hearst Magazines International in September 1989, when the division was formed by Hearst Corporation. In his capacity as president of HMI, Green has been responsible for more than 200 licensed or joint-ventured editions of Hearst magazines in 55 countries in 36 languages for distribution in more than 100 countries. Green also serves as executive vice president of Hearst Magazines and vice president of Hearst Corporation. He is the former president and chief operating officer of The New Yorker Magazine, Inc., where his 22-year career encompassed nearly every phase of the magazineâ€™s operations. â€œSince joining Hearst Magazines International in 1989, our business has grown exponentially, particularly in emerging markets like Asia and Eastern Europe, where the magazine business is alive and well,â€ said Green. â€œIâ€™m very proud of what Iâ€™ve accomplished over the years, having expanded our global footprint into more than 100 countries. Cosmopolitan, with 60 editions, is the most-widely read womenâ€™s magazine around the world; and weâ€™ve seen tremendous growth for Esquire and Harperâ€™s BAZAAR, as well as with our Australian joint venture with ACP.â€ Green continued: â€œThere is still enormous opportunity for international expansion. The impressive job Duncan has done at NatMag, coupled with his knowledge of the global magazine market, make Duncan a terrific choice to be my successor.â€ Commenting on the appointment, Edwards said, â€œI am delighted to be taking up this new responsibility at Hearst Magazines International and look forward to working with our partners to further develop our already extensive interests around the world. I am fortunate to be succeeding such an acknowledged expert in international publishing as George and will benefit from his advice and counsel during the transition period.â€ A graduate of Yale University, Green has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Magazine Publishers of America (MPA) since 1976, serving as its chairman from 1981 to 1983, and served as president of the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) from 1991 to 1993. In 1996, he was elected to the Board of Directors of The National Magazine Company Limited. Green has received many awards during his career, including The Henry Johnson Fisher Award in 1998, which honors a magazine leader for significant and long-standing contributions to the publishing industry in the United States, The ACE International Publishing Personality of the Year Award in 1999 in the U.K. and, in 2004, the Marco Polo Award from the U.S.-China Foundation for International Exchanges in China. â€œGeorge is a very strong and experienced publishing executive who has been an incredible force at this company, having made Hearst Magazines International the biggest player in the global magazine market,â€ said Black. â€œHe has not only made our brands recognizable worldwide, but has also driven a significant amount of earnings for Hearst. We thank him for his tireless dedication and commitment to the company.â€

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Duncan Edwards Named President & CEO of Hearst Magazines

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