Top Management Changes at Intertec

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Dec 15, 2000 by Sarah Gonser

IndustryClick CEO takes over Intertec; Bishop departs.

Primedia Inc. b-to-b group chief David Ferm named a new CEO for its Intertec Publishing unit on December 1. Tim Andrews, CEO of Primedia's b-to-b Internet company, IndustryClick.com, replaces Cameron Bishop, who had been CEO since February 1999.

Andrews will continue as CEO of Princeton, New Jersey-based IndustryClick. Ron Wall, the Intertec COO, was promoted to president of Overland Park, Kansas-based Intertec. CEO Dan Altman will also leave the company.

Ferm says the moves were made in the interest of integrating the company's print and online businesses. "From my perch, integration across all b-to-b assets is crucial in order to capitalize on the intellectual content of Intertec," Ferm says. "IndustryClick will remain an e-business unit, but aspects of the integration will be vital to its success."

Referring to Primedia's acquisition of About.com and its ongoing efforts to integrate that Internet company, Ferm adds, "This speaks to a fabric across Primedia--there is a mantra of integration across the company.

While IndustryClick will remain a separate company, Andrews (who was hired as IndustryClick CEO in January from his post as president and CEO of Dow Jones/Reuters' Factiva) notes that the structure of IndustryClick has definitely changed. "Before I got there, IndustryClick was an Internet pure-play company--the idea being that it would not leverage the Intertec brand," Andrews says. "I made it very clear that I believe integrating sales and editorial operations is vital to Intertec and IndustryClick being successful."

The move to integrate, however, may also be related to changing economic circumstances. When IndustryClick was founded last year, many magazine companies were considering dot-com spin-offs because public and private capital was pouring into Internet-only companies. Now, however, the markets have soured on dot-coms, and several b-to-b magazine companies, including Intertec, have had a year to evaluate their strategies.

On the move to integrate further, Wall says, "We're going to be able to offer more customers more solutions to their issues than any other company out there. This change is going to allow us to stay ahead of our competitors."

Both Intertec and IndustryClick, Andrews says, will keep their headquarters locations and distinct names. The search for a new COO for Intertec is underway, he adds.

Intertec owns FOLIO: and about 100 magazines, 30 trade shows and 450 books and directories.

Intertec

The Primedia Years

1989 K-III Communications Corporation, now Primedia, purchases Intertec.

1990 Acquires Transmission & Distribution and Electrical Systems Design from Andrews Communications; acquires two magazines and a newsletter with purchase of Ward's Communications.

1993 Acquires Soybean Digest from the American Soybean Association; acquires The Press, Stitches and APEX trade shows from Weisner Publishing.

1994 Acquires four titles from Philadelphia-based trade publisher North American Publishing.

1995 Acquires the Chicago and Lake-wood divisions of Maclean Hunter Publishing.

1998 Acquires Cowles Business Media and Cowles Enthusiast Media for $200 million from McClatchy Newspapers, Inc.; acquires Miramar Communications Inc.

1999 Acquires Target Communications.

2000 Acquires six magazines and one Web site from Adams Business Media.