Joseph Ripp Named New Head of Time Inc.
Joseph A. Ripp, a former senior Time Warner executive who had left the fold to become the chief executive of OneSource Information Services, will be the new chief executive of Time Inc.
His appointment comes as Time Inc., the publishing division of Time Warner with titles like Time, People, Sports Illustrated and InStyle, is being spun off into a separate company later this year.
Mr. Ripp worked at Time Warner for nearly 20 years before leaving in 2004 to pursue a career outside of the company. He had been with OneSource since only 2012, when the investment company he worked for acquired it. OneSource provides digitally focused marketing and information to businesses.
The chief executive job at Time Inc. has been difficult to fill in part because the challenges confronting the newly created publishing company are expected to be substantial. The magazine industry has been under intense financial pressure as advertisers have migrated to other media platforms.
Like other large media companies, including News Corporation and Tribune Company, Time Warner is choosing to separate its publishing components from its more lucrative film and television assets. Time Inc.'s first-quarter revenue dropped 5 percent, to $737 million, as circulation revenue fell 11 percent. In January the company laid off about 500 employees, or 6 percent of its total staff
But unlike the publishing division of News Corporation that was recently spun off, the new Time Inc. company is expected to be laden with heavy debt.
An earlier head of the division, Jack Griffin, was forced out of the job after less than six months in early 2011. He was replaced after a nine-month search by Laura Lang, whose background was in digital advertising. Time Inc.'s titles continued to struggle, however, and when Time Warner announced the publishing spinoff, Ms. Lang announced she would be stepping down. Mr. Ripp will replace her in September, the company said.
Another executive who was widely considered a leading candidate was Michael Klingensmith, chief executive of Star Tribune Media Company in Minneapolis.
