Publisher Meredith Gets New Consumer Mag President
Magazine publisher Meredith Corp. today promoted Chief Revenue Officer Tom Harty to president overseeing the house’s consumer magazines. He will retain his CRO title as well as the position of executive vice president of Meredith Publishing Group, the company said.
But, in addition to overseeing company-wide sales efforts and various media networks — including the Parents Network, Ladies’ Home Journal, Fitness, Traditional Home, Midwest Living and Hispanic Ventures, which includes four Spanish-language magazines — Harty will also be assuming control over editorial and creative functions for the company’s New York-based titles.
According to Meredith Publishing Group President Jack Griffin, Harty was integral to Meredith’s recent success.
“Under his direction, Meredith Magazines has grown its advertising market share considerably during this period, especially for the first half of 2009, when our share of magazine advertising in our competitive set is up four percentage points over 2008,” Griffin said.
One of Harty’s innovations was Meredith 360°, a “cross-media integration business unit,” that helped grow and expand Meredith’s Corporate Sales and Marketing efforts.
Harty, who joined Meredith in 2004, previously worked as senior vice president and general manager for the Golf Digest Companies, which are owned by Advance Magazines, a division of Conde Nast. He has also held positions at TV Guide, Reader’s Digest, McCall’s, Forbes and publisher Gruner & Jahr USA.
Full release after the jump
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MEREDITH CORPORATION PROMOTES TOM HARTY TO PRESIDENT, CONSUMER MAGAZINES
NEW YORK, N.Y., July 7, 2009 — Meredith Corporation, the nation’s leading media and marketing company serving women, announced today that Tom Harty has been promoted to President, Consumer Magazines.
In this expanded role, Harty will also retain his title of Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President of the Meredith Publishing Group. He will continue to report Jack Griffin, President, Meredith Publishing Group.
“Since being named Chief Revenue Officer one year ago, Tom has provided energetic and successful leadership during a turbulent time in our industry,” states Griffin. “Under his direction, Meredith Magazines has grown its advertising market share considerably during this period, especially for the first half of 2009, when our share of magazine advertising in our competitive set is up four percentage points over 2008.”
Griffin notes that among his many accomplishments, Harty conceived Meredith 360°, the company’s cross-media integration business unit, and significantly expanded Meredith’s Corporate Sales and Marketing efforts.
“These groups have set the standard for print-based media companies in cross-platform programs and solutions. He and his teams have been very successful in bringing together all Meredith assets to serve our major clients and generate revenue for Meredith,” says Griffin. This success has been central to Meredith achieving the top position in overall media company rankings by Advertiser Intelligence Reports.
In his expanded role, Harty will continue to lead Meredith’s Publishing Group-wide sales efforts and coordinate the sales and marketing efforts of all publishers and sales leaders. At the Group level, Harty will continue oversight for Meredith Corporate Sales, Meredith 360°, Direct Response & Travel Marketing, Home Solutions and Pricing & Analysis. Among the media brands, Harty will also continue to oversee the Parents Network, Ladies’ Home Journal, Fitness, Hispanic Ventures, Traditional Home and Midwest Living.
Additionally, Harty will assume oversight for editorial and creative functions for Meredith’s New York-based properties.
Prior to his joining Meredith in 2004, Harty served as senior vice president/general manager for The Golf Digest Companies, a division of Advance Magazines. He was responsible for the financial management, circulation, advertising and business development for the division’s four titles, including the highly regarded Golf Digest magazine.
Harty’s broad publishing experience includes key leadership positions with several of the industry’s largest publications including TV Guide, where he served as vice president and publisher for the 9 million circulation title; and Reader’s Digest, where he was advertising director for the 11 million circulation title. In addition, he has held key business positions with McCall’s, Forbes and Gruner & Jahr USA.
Harty, 46, holds an MBA from Iona College and a bachelor’s from Castleton College. He resides in Irvington, N.Y., with his family.
