Digitas CEO Laura Lang has been named CEO of publishing company Time Inc. Lang will replace Jack Griffin who was fired in February, six months after being named to the position. She will report directly to Time Warner Inc. CEO Jeff Bewkes.
As CEO of Time Inc., Lang will oversee the operations of 21 U.S. titles and 94 international titles, including People, Time, and Sports Illustrated.
Over the past four years, Time Warner’s publishing revenue decreased 30% to $3.68 billion and operating income decreased roughly 40% to $526 million. According to The Wall Street Journal, some of Time Inc.’s top titles have sold fewer ad pages in 2011 than they had at this point a year ago.
“Laura’s leadership experience, brand management expertise, understanding of digital and marketing, and strong relationships with the creative and advertising communities are a great fit for Time Inc.,” said Bewkes, in a statement.
Lang joined Digitas in 1999 and was named CEO in 2008. Prior to joining the agency, she served as president of consultancy Marketing Corporation of America. She also held management roles at consultancy Yankelovich Clancy Shulman, as well as brands such as Pfizer, Quaker Oats and Bristol Myers.
Lang will relocate from Boston to New York for the position, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, which quoted Lang as saying, “As to my lack of publishing background, I say, ‘Define publishing.”
“In the broader sense at Digitas, I’ve been very involved in media and publishing,” she told Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
Time Inc. declined to provide additional comment.
