Tuesday, August 08, 2006
VNU Business Media: Krakoff in Charge
Krakoff Named President/CEO of VNU Business Media; Marchesano to Oversee Project Forward
The integration of VNU by private equity consortium Valcon continues apace, with Bob Krakoff taking the reins at VNU Business Media as president/CEO. Michael Marchesano becomes executive vp, chief transformation officer, "responsible for overseeing VNU’s three-year Project Forward program, which is designed to cut costs and find efficiencies in key corporate areas such as finance, human resources and information technology, with the goal of more effectively leveraging the company’s resources to improve its competitive edge," according to MediaWeek. While it's a little unclear in the linked article, I believe Marchesano's position is VNU corporate, so a kick upstairs.
As I've mentioned before, Krakoff's presence in the Valcon partnership is a good thing. He's an experienced, tough--very tough--and talented publishing executive, with a proven ability to work internationally, and more importantly, to work closely and successfully with p/e firms.
Whether this move changes the status of VNU's b2b properties in Europe remains to be seen, but somehow I doubt it.
UPDATE: Folio:'s reporting is here.
UDPATE TWO: For all of you Kremlin watchers, the good bloggers at MediaBistro's FishbowlNY have pdfs of Marchesano's and Ruitjer's memos to employees.
In other VNU-related news, the Billboard Group trimmed 26 editorial, production and publishing staffers, partially the result of integrating the acquisition of Radio & Records. There were some very senior Billboard editorial staffers let go, which I think will hurt more in the long run than the benefits of short term lower salaries. It's precisely the kind of long experience that executives like Krakoff bring to the table that b2b publishing companies need in every key position. But I'm sure the cost cuts make sense on some spreadsheet somewhere.
Comments
|
The integration of VNU by private equity consortium Valcon continues apace, with Bob Krakoff taking the reins at VNU Business Media as president/CEO. Michael Marchesano becomes executive vp, chief transformation officer, "responsible for overseeing VNU’s three-year Project Forward program, which is designed to cut costs and find efficiencies in key corporate areas such as finance, human resources and information technology, with the goal of more effectively leveraging the company’s resources to improve its competitive edge," according to MediaWeek. While it's a little unclear in the linked article, I believe Marchesano's position is VNU corporate, so a kick upstairs.
As I've mentioned before, Krakoff's presence in the Valcon partnership is a good thing. He's an experienced, tough--very tough--and talented publishing executive, with a proven ability to work internationally, and more importantly, to work closely and successfully with p/e firms.
Whether this move changes the status of VNU's b2b properties in Europe remains to be seen, but somehow I doubt it.
UPDATE: Folio:'s reporting is here.
UDPATE TWO: For all of you Kremlin watchers, the good bloggers at MediaBistro's FishbowlNY have pdfs of Marchesano's and Ruitjer's memos to employees.
In other VNU-related news, the Billboard Group trimmed 26 editorial, production and publishing staffers, partially the result of integrating the acquisition of Radio & Records. There were some very senior Billboard editorial staffers let go, which I think will hurt more in the long run than the benefits of short term lower salaries. It's precisely the kind of long experience that executives like Krakoff bring to the table that b2b publishing companies need in every key position. But I'm sure the cost cuts make sense on some spreadsheet somewhere.
