Time Inc., the magazine division of Time Warner Inc., has a new CEO after 10 long months of searching. Laura Lang, who served as CEO of digital ad agency Digitas since 2008, will become Time Inc CEO in January.
Lang succeeds Jack Griffin, who was fired by Time Warner Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes after a mere five months on the job. “His leadership style and approach did not mesh with Time Inc. and Time Warner,” Bewkes said of Griffin in a memo at the time. Since then, the company has been led by an interim management committee composed of three Time Inc. executives.
Lang will oversee a roster of 21 magazines, including such well-known titles as People, Time, InStyle and Sports Illustrated.
Lang’s appointment is an unusual one, given her background in advertising. (Before joining Digitas in 1999, Lang was president of Marketing Corporation of America, a consulting firm.) Still, it could prove a strategic fit given the aggressive digital agenda Time Inc. has laid out for itself. In August, the company pledged to launch tablet editions for all of its titles by year end, a promise it appears to be making good on.
Bewkes cited Lang’s fluency with digital and “strong relationships with the creative and advertising communities” as two factors in favor of her hiring.
Is it worrisome to have a advertising maven as CEO of Time Inc., or is this a shrewd step in the right direction? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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