The Next CEOs

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, May, 2001 by Cindy Gillis, Sarah Gonser

In addition to the high-profile People Magazine Group, Moore, 50, also oversees the business and development operations of the Parenting Group, which includes Parenting, Baby Talk and Family Life. Early corporate experience gave Moore her 360-degree perspective of the business: She joined Time Inc. in 1978 as a corporate financial analyst and went on to specialize in consumer marketing at Sports Illustrated, Fortune, Money and Discover. Before joining People, Moore was associate publisher of Sports Illustrated in 1988 and later became founding publisher of SI for Kids.

THE CHALLENGE: Moore's greatest challenge, should she fall in line for the succession, is that she has always been on the day-to-day side of operations. "She has not run a company, she's run business divisions," says investment bank AdMedia Partners' Mark Edmiston. "She lacks leadership experience at a company level."

DAVID NUSSBAUM

PRESIDENT, PENTON TECHNOLOGY MEDIA DIVISION, AND EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, PENTON MEDIA INC. When David Nussbaum took over Penton's technology sector in 1998, it earned $50 million annually. Today, boosted by acquisitions, the division earns five times that and is Penton's largest and most profitable.

"David does not want to just run a business, he wants to build a business," says Penton CEO Tom Kemp. That ability to set and meet growth objectives is a quality of long-standing, according to Don Pazour, Nussbaum's former boss at Miller Freeman, who is now CEO of PBI Media.

As president of Penton's technology media division and executive vice president of Penton Media Inc., Nussbaum operates franchises that serve the Internet/broadband, information technology and electronics markets. He also oversees Penton Media's global businesses.

Nussbaum, 43, launched his career on the editorial side in 1980 as an editor with Gralla Publications. When Miller Freeman acquired that business, he moved through the ranks acquiring sales, marketing and management experience, and finally heading up Miller Freeman's New York division of magazines and tradeshows before joining Penton.

Nussbaum's colleagues say he achieves through tough standards, but is also known for valuing his staff and managing fairly.

THE CHALLENGE While he is at the top of many industry leaders' all-stars lists, a few say that Nussbaum most comfortable in one-on-one situations, needs to "get out in front" and boost his visibility.

XEVIN O'MALLEY

PRESIDENT, EMAP USA SPORTS DIVISION Kevin O'Mailey, 44, has a reputation for "increasing the numbers wherever he goes," says one recruiter. "He's the kind of guy who, when you're looking for $10 million in revenue from one client, you're very interested in working with."

At EmapUSA, where he has been president of the newly formed Sports Division since mid-2000, O'Malley oversees a number of sports-related titles-including NFL Insider, Slam Magazine, Snowboarder and Skateboarder-and the Gravity Games extreme sports franchise. While there has been a lot of press recently about financial troubles at Emap USA, most of those interviewed for this report say it is too early to speak about O'Malley's suc Moore cesses or failures with the group.