13 September 2016

Rich Battista named president and chief executive officer of Time Inc.

Ripp said: “I am deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to lead this tremendous company for the past three years, and I am excited about its future. We have made real progress in the transformation into a multimedia, multi-platform enterprise. As we look to the next phase of our strategy, Rich is the right choice to execute our plans and deliver shareholder value.”

Battista said: “I am thrilled and honoured to lead this great organisation and its exceptionally talented employees, particularly as we aggressively move to unlock the enormous potential of our brands across the media landscape. During this dynamic time in media, we are transforming Time Inc. to a cross-media company and are uniquely positioned to leverage our brands, scale, data and insights to significantly grow new lines of business in service to advertisers, marketers and consumers. I am eager to get started and to win.”

Battista, a 25-year veteran of the entertainment and media industry, has significant experience in launching, building and managing large-scale businesses across various media platforms. Prior to joining Time Inc. in 2015, he served as CEO of Mandalay Sports Media, where he led the media and content enterprise by creating, acquiring and investing in businesses and assets across the sports media landscape. Over a period of more than 18 years, Battista held numerous senior management roles at Fox Television, where he was integral in conceiving of, building and operating its significant, multi-billion-dollar portfolio of networks. As CEO of the publicly traded Gemstar-TV Guide International from 2004 to 2008, Battista was the chief architect of the company’s turnaround, which included the revitalisation of TV Guide magazine, TV Guide Network and TV Guide Online, as well as enhancement of its technology-driven businesses.