Bonnier Corp. has continued its expansion by adding Chris Allen to its management team as VP of group publishing and corporate sales. Allen worked on Time Inc.’s Cooking Light brand for 17 years — most recently as publisher — before a major downsizing in late 2008 eliminated many senior management positions.
At Bonnier, Allen will manage nine titles in the travel, shelter and lifestyle categories, including Islands, Garden Design and Spa. After successfully building the Cooking Light brand across multiple channels and advertising categories, Allen is expected to do the same in his new role. Allen is also responsible for creating combined offerings across his nine titles and Bonnier’s other groups. He reports directly to Terry Snow, CEO and president of Bonnier USA.
“One of my key areas of responsibility and that of other key and new executives is to start pulling together the company’s resources,” Allen said. “Group brand and individual brand leaders will be responsible for reaching out and starting to pull together the many parts of this company towards a more cohesive whole that can put together larger and more impressive corporate packages and proposals and be multiplatform in all areas.”
Allen said Bonnier was a unique opportunity for him because the company is bucking downward trends in the industry and continuing to grow. Bonnier acquired five Hachette Filipacchi titles — Popular Photography, Flying, Boating, Sound and Vision and American Photo — at the beginning of June.
“Bonnier is in aggressive mode and, as a private company, is taking a long-term brand building view, which is much different than the ultra-short-term view of a big public company,” Allen pointed out.
