Facebook  Twitter  LinkedIn  

Visit min's sister site:



BREAKING NEWS & VIEWS

Penton Names CEO
Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Former Thomson Financial president and CEO Sharon Rowlands will replace John French as CEO of Penton Media, as well as join the Penton board of directors. Rowlands served at Thomson Financial for three years and has experience in integrated information and technology. "During her 22-year career in financial information, Sharon has been a driving force in the evolution of the industry. We are confident that Penton and our nearly 1,500 valued employees will benefit from Sharon¹s outstanding leadership and vision as she works to identify new opportunities for our brands,"  Penton co-chairman Anup Bagaria said in a press release. Look for an interview with Rowlands in the Oct. 13 issue of min's b2b.

If you have breaking news to share please contact Steve Smith at ssmith@accessintel.com

COMMENTS
1.
While I may wish Ms. Rowlands every success in her new position as Pentons new C.E.O. It will require more than identifying new opportunities for the numerous Penton Brands. It will require a New culture, one that Penton has never had or at least not in the past 15 years minimum.The goal and the drive to be the best and to produce the best is simply not present and as that image of Penton has permeated the marketplace the Penton brands have continued to lose ground. Cutting costs, ie: reduced circulations is not the direction of a leader or perhaps not even a survivor. Todays marketplace does not require vehicles that are not the most vital to their market and that is where the Penton brands typically fall. During my 34 years in media, specifically the Supply Chain market I have always believed that any one can be tomorrows leader and todays leader does not have an entitlement to the position unless they continue to earn it! New opportunities are always a requirement for continued growth but not at the unneccesary sacrifice of currrent products or markets. Every Board of Directors must realize that a new C.E.O. is not the solution unless it is understood that the new C.E.O.will require the support to do what must be done. Other wise a new C.E.O. is just a pendulum swinging in a new direction without stability or direction for the company itself.Thank you! John Preston
Posted by John Preston on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 06:02 PM
2.
You are right, John, in that having been a leader once upon a time does not mean regaining position as a leader is a given; in fact, it may be more difficult. And, of course, any vehicle not vital to its market will fall, as you point out. That said, Penton is not handicapped going forward in any way worse than any of its traditional competitors. I haven't seen evidence that any particular company has come up with the magic formula for transitioning from "old" to "new." First question: "is it possible?" Second question: "If it is possible, then why do you think Penton is incapable of making a bold transition?" Personally, I like a good fight.
Posted by Darrell Denny on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 06:22 PM
3.
Darrell, I do not believe Penton is incapable of making the transition but I have not seen prior evidence of the awareness, willingness and mindset to do what it takes, not just what they want!Jack Welch, former C.E.O. at G.E. once stated that we have too many "managers" and not enough "leaders" today and "managers" will only manage down!He further stated that changing leadership can often, not always,only cause confusion in the companies direction and the loss of time and capital that today is not acceptable.
If Ms. Rowlands has the entrepreneurial mindset to do what needs to be done in the neccessary time frame than as I said before any one can be tomorrows leader.I have been a part of two very successful start-up publications that even during a recession ran circles around the market leader because of their mindset and the structure of the organization to move effectively and swiftly while the competition wastes valuable time to run every thing "up the flagpole" That's simply not effective today nor is it affordable.I do wish penton every possible success because as you so aptly put it, I also love a good fight! Good competition breeds success while no competition only breeds sloth. Thanks for your feedback Darrell. John
Posted by John Preston on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 @ 07:06 PM
Search Jobs
Media Jobs

App Central

min's App Central (for min subscribers only): Stay on top of mobile app developments with exclusive app reviews, analysis and data.

Please enter the following information to have a link to The Skinny emailed to your iPhone:

White Papers
Get even smarter -- download a white paper today. 


... view Whitepapers
min Contests

min contests
Want to sponsor a min contest?


  Events

      Best of the Web, April 3, 2012

min's Sales Executive of the Year Awards
Call for Entries


min Press

min's Mobile App Report

 View Details
                           

min Presents: The Most Intriguing & Top-Selling Magazine Covers 2007-2010Intriguing & Top-Selling Magazine Covers

 View Details
                           

State of Digital MediaThe State of Digital Media

 View Details
                                                      

                                    Internet Sales            Guidebook

 View Details

All min Press

Inside min This Week
Events Calendar

min's Best of the Web Awards
Event April 3, 2012 at the Grand Hyatt, NYC
Register Today!


min Webinar:

Tablets 2.0: Generating a Revenue Plan for the Tablets Platform
December 8, 2011 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Available on Demand


All Events




min
Free Eletters — Sign up Now