Time hunts president after internal shuffle
American publishing giant Time Inc is looking for a new president for Europe, the Middle East and Africa following the departure of Richard Atkinson, who has been promoted to chief financial officer and executive vice-president at Time headquarters in New York.
Atkinson was responsible for Time’s publishing activities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including titles such as Time and Fortune. Most recently, he has focused on ways to bring American titles such as celebrity weekly In Style, People and Sports Illustrated to Europe.
Last year, Time Inc entered a joint venture with Burda in Germany to produce a German language version of In Style, and is planning to bring five more titles to the European market over the next few years.
Atkinson also oversaw the purchase of trendy interiors magazine Wallpaper two years ago. The title saw a 39.2 per cent growth in the most recent set of ABCs to a circulation of 112,404 for the sixth months to June 1999.
A spokeswoman for the company says: “There is no replacement for Richard as yet and he will continue to work for Time Atlantic one day a week. However we are in the process of recruiting.”
Atkinson succeeds Joseph Ripp who was recently named chief financial officer and executive vice-president of parent company Time Warner, the world’s largest media conglomerate.
