Steve R. Swartz, president and COO of Hearst Corporation,
will succeed Frank Bennack as CEO starting June 1. Bennack will continue be
executive vice chairman of the Hearst board of directors and chairman of the
executive committee.
The announcement was made jointly by William R. Hearst III,
chairman of the Hearst board, and Bennack.
Bennack has put in more than 50 years with Hearst. In
addition to his role on the board and as chairman of the executive committee,
he remains a trustee of the trust established under the will of William
Randolph Hearst and a member of numerous corporate committees and the Hearst
Foundations boards.
"The Hearst board is profoundly grateful for the
accomplishments of Frank Bennack and we believe his legacy will continue with
Steve as his successor," Hearst said. "Since Frank first stepped into
the role of CEO in 1979, Hearst has seen unparalleled growth: 90% of the
businesses we are in today did not exist or were not part of our company when
his tenure began. Steve has all the talent, insight and experience to lead the
company forward. We also have the benefit of Frank remaining as executive vice
chairman of the board and we trust he will remain deeply involved in our corporate
and foundation activities."
Swartz was named president in December 2012, after being
named COO in March 2011, and has been working closely with Bennack on building
the future of Hearst. Before his promotion to COO, Swartz was senior VP of the
corporation and president of Hearst Newspapers.
"Steve has dedicated himself to our company for more
than 20 years and during the past two years we have been working side-by-side
to position Hearst for our next 100 years," Bennack said. "I speak on
behalf of the entire board of directors when I say we have the utmost
confidence in Steve stepping into the role of CEO in June and leading Hearst
into a strong future of successful media and information businesses and brands
around the globe. I look forward to continuing to work with him to secure that
future in my role on the board and various executive committees."
Corporate sibling Hearst Television, with 29 TV
and 2 radio stations, is a private company, with David Barrett as chairman and
CEO.
