15th January, 2009 - Hearst today announces the appointment of Duncan Edwards, Chief Executive of the National Magazine Company, as President and CEO of Hearst Magazines International, succeeding George J Green who will retire at the end of June.
Edwards is also appointed as Executive Vice Chairman of Hearst Magazines and Vice Chairman of the National Magazine Company (NatMag).
Edwards, who has been Chief Executive of NatMag - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hearst - since 2005, will take up the new role on February 1st and relocate to New York during the summer.
Hearst Magazines International is responsible for all of Hearst Magazines' non USA and non UK businesses and will, in the future, include the National Magazine Company, Hearst's principal business in the UK.
An announcement will be made in due course about a new Chief Executive for the National Magazine Company. In the meantime, Edwards will continue to lead the business as CEO and Chairman of Comag.
The National Magazine Company publishes 19 magazines in the United Kingdom, reaching 14 million adults. Edwards joined NatMag in 1989 and has served in various executive roles since then, including publisher of Company magazine, Director of Business Development and Managing Director. He spent the early part of his career at Media Week Ltd. Edwards earned a dual honors degree in geography and politics from Sheffield University.
In recent years, NatMag has been one of the most dynamic publishing companies in the UK, growing through a mix of launches, acquisitions and joint ventures. Some of NatMag's most successful brands include Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar and Men's Health. In addition, its digital business, Hearst Digital, has expanded to include not only online versions of its major magazines but also the U.K.'s leading women's interest portal, handbag.com, and the leading consumer health web site, netdoctor.co.uk.
Commenting on the appointment, Edwards says, "I am delighted to be taking up this new responsibility within Hearst and look forward to working with our partners to further develop our already extensive interests around the world. I am fortunate to be succeeding such an acknowledged expert in international publishing as George and will benefit from his advice and counsel during the transition period. I am also very pleased that I will continue to be involved with NatMag as vice chairman; I have loved working there for the last twenty years and am immensely proud of the magazines and websites we publish and the people who create, sell and support them."
The US announcement, issued by Hearst, is appended to this release.
ENDS/
For more information, please contact
Jane Wynyard
Head of PR/Communications
National Magazine Company
Phone: 0207 439 5211
Email: jane.wynyard@natmags.co.uk
About the National Magazine Company
The National Magazine Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst established by William Randolph Hearst in 1910.
The business comprises the core wholly owned business, also called the National Magazine Co and interests in two joint ventures. These are partnerships with some of the world's best publishers as follows:
NatMag Rodale:
A 50:50 joint venture with Rodale Inc. of the USA which focuses on health and wellbeing.
COMAG:
A 65:35 joint venture with Conde Nast, one of the UK's largest magazine distributors.
NatMag publishes 14 consumer titles in the UK: Coast, Company, Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan Bride, Country Living, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, House Beautiful, Prima, Prima Baby, SHE, You & Your Wedding, and Zest. The group publishes three large scale weeklies, Best, Reveal and Real People and also publishes a further two magazines, Men's Health and Runner's World, through NatMag Rodale.
NatMag division, Hearst digital, publishes a number of community websites for NatMag magazines and also includes the Handbag network and www.netdoctor.co.uk, the UK's leading consumer health site.
