Meredith Corp. is welcoming more change today, naming Tom Harty its new chief executive officer, replacing Steve Lacy who will shift to executive chairman. The news comes as the Des Moines, Iowa-based publicly traded company begins integrating the recently-acquired Time Inc. assets it secured in November. Harty will officially begin his tenure on Thursday.
Lacy joined Meredith in 1998 as its chief financial officer, was promoted to president of the national media group two years later and added the title of CEO in 2006. His tenure at the top of the company has been undisputedly successful. Not only has Meredith paid its investors dividends every year under his watch (25 consecutive years in total), he also lead the company through three other major acquisitions within the past decade with Allrecipes.com in 2012 and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s media assets and Shape magazine, both in 2015.
While Lacy is stepping away from the role he’s held for nearly 12 years, in a statement, Mell Meredith, vice chairman of the Board of Directors suggests that he will be an active part of the corporate leadership.
“This is a pivotal time for Meredith Corporation and our Board believes we have the right leadership team and a well-defined plan to successfully integrate the Time Inc. acquisition and increase shareholder value,” the statement reads. “Steve and Tom have outstanding track records of achieving acquisition goals and growing Total Shareholder Return over time—and together with the best employees in the media industry—I am extremely confident in their ability to deliver for all our stakeholders, including consumers, advertisers, investors and employees alike.”
Lacy’s statement echoes similar sentiments.
“I look forward to working closely with Tom as we create an even more powerful media and marketing company,” Lacy says in the statement. “These new roles are the next phase in a well-planned succession process that began when Tom was promoted to President and COO in 2016. He has done an excellent job leading our operating groups, including a major role in our acquisition of Time Inc.”
Harty has been a highly visible leader at Meredith over the past 14 years. He joined the company in 2004 as chief revenue officer of consumer magazines and was promoted to president of the national media group in 2010.
http://www.foliomag.com/tom-harty-tapped-replace-steve-lacy-ceo-meredith-corp/