Mary Stier Retiring from Gannett to Launch New Multimedia Venture, The Brilliance Group

Business Wire, August 14, 2007

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Mary Stier, president and publisher of The Des Moines Register and senior group president of Gannett Co., Inc.'s Midwest Newspaper Group, announced today that she will retire from the company, effective Sept. 7, to launch a new, national multimedia venture. The Brilliance Group, for which Stier will serve as chief executive officer, will target and serve aspirational boomer women across the country. The new company will be based in Des Moines.

Stier, who has been with Gannett for 25 years, is recognized for her transformational leadership in the industry, her advocacy and mentorship of women and her community service. She looks forward to applying these signature skills in her new venture.

"I'm proud to have helped women across the country focus their energies and passions to achieve incredible results," said Stier. "These efforts have highlighted for me the need for a multimedia company which serves aspirational boomer women," she continued. Stier brings extensive experience in all avenues of media, including broadcasting, newspapers, magazines and online/digital, to her new company.

At Gannett, Stier has led and mentored more than 7,400 newspaper employees through an evolution in the industry into a digital, multimedia environment. She initiated and led the Gannett Generation X Task Force that developed strategies to attract and retain younger readers, a program which has been modeled across the country.

As an advocate for women in her profession and her community, Stier has been recognized with numerous awards. She received the Athena Award from the Council of 100 and a Top 30 Award from the National Organization of Female Executives. She attended Fortune magazine's "Most Powerful Women in Business Summit" in 2002.

In Des Moines, Stier was Chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership and in 2006, she received the Star of Hope award from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Chapter of Iowa.

Stier began her career on-air at KRNA radio in Iowa City, Iowa. She joined Gannett at the Iowa City Press-Citizen in 1982 as the retail advertising manager. She advanced to become publisher, one of the youngest to hold this role at Gannett. She was then promoted to president and publisher of the Rockford Register Star in Rockford, Ill. Stier returned to Iowa in 2000, to serve as president and publisher of The Des Moines Register and the senior group president of the Midwest Newspaper Group. She is also senior group president of the Midwest and Sun Coast Groups, overseeing the publication of 25 Midwestern and southern daily newspapers, more than 350 non-daily publications and 27 Web sites.

Stier graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Iowa in 1978 with a Bachelor of Arts and received an Honorary Doctorate, Humane Letters, from Grand View College.

For more information on The Brilliance Group, please contact Stier at mary@thebrilliancegroup.net.