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03/13/2008
Associated Press Announces Consolidation of Business Units
Move creates a unified Sales and Marketing Department
NEW YORK – The Associated Press is consolidating management
of its newspaper, broadcast and new media business units to
better meet the converging needs of the media industry around
the world, President and CEO Tom Curley announced today.
The creation of a unified sales and marketing department will
put all of AP's business lines under Tom Brettingen in the
newly created role of senior vice president and chief revenue
officer for AP. In that capacity, Brettingen will oversee
all sales and marketing operations worldwide. Previously,
Brettingen had been senior vice president in charge of the
Global Newspaper Markets department.
Under the restructuring,
Brettingen’s new department will include: Jane Seagrave,
currently vice president of AP Digital, who becomes senior
vice president for Global Product Development; Sue Cross,
currently vice president of U.S. newspapers online, who becomes
senior vice president of Global New Media and U.S. Print and
Broadcast Markets; and Joy Jones, currently vice president,
Global Business Operations, who becomes vice president of
Marketing Operations.
Eric Braun, vice president of
AP Television News; Ian Cameron,
vice president of AP Images, AP’s commercial photo division;
and the regional directors of Global Newspaper Markets also
will report to Brettingen.
Jim Williams, senior vice
president of Global Broadcast, who has presided over enormous
revenue growth in AP’s global broadcast division, has
decided to retire from AP next month.
"Markets are converging. Audiences and revenues are shifting,"
said Curley. "AP needs to manage the change, and consolidating
business units will improve our ability to do that."
Brettingen added, "Our success depends on clearly understanding
and quickly capitalizing on opportunities across all platforms.
This consolidation will speed up how we identify market opportunities,
develop new products and get them into the marketplace."
Tom Brettingen, 59, becomes
AP’s Chief Revenue Officer, overseeing all of AP’s
lines of business, and senior vice president in charge of
sales and marketing. Prior to moving into this new position,
Brettingen was senior vice president, Global Newspaper Markets,
responsible for AP's business relationships with all newspapers
and news agencies in the world, as well as AP's commercial
photo sales organization. Brettingen has more than 30 years
of AP experience as a newsman, editor and executive.
Jane Seagrave, 53, has been
promoted to senior vice president for Global Product Development,
where she will oversee development of AP’s next-generation
(Web 2.0) multimedia product portfolio, as well as manage
product growth in mobile and Web video and key content verticals,
including entertainment, sports and business. Most recently
Seagrave was vice president of New Media Markets and director
of AP Digital, responsible for the worldwide marketing and
sales of AP’s products and services to commercial customers.
Seagrave was an AP journalist from 1980 to 1985 and rejoined
AP in 2003 from American Lawyer Media, where she was chief
online strategy consultant managing the integration of that
company with San Francisco-based law.com.
Sue Cross, 47, has been promoted
to senior vice president of Global New Media and U.S. Print/Broadcast
Markets with responsibility for sales to AP’s domestic
newspaper and broadcast customers as well as sales to all
digital customers. Cross had been vice president, Online/U.S.
Newspaper Markets since 2005, directing strategy, product
development, business operations and online services for newspaper
Web sites. Previously she served as regional vice president
for the Western United States.
Joy Jones, 37, has been promoted
to vice president of Marketing Operations, which includes
global management of product communications, research, distribution
and support. She will also handle general administration for
the new sales and marketing organization. Jones was most recently
vice president for global newspaper business operations, responsible
for international newspaper/news agency sales and marketing.
Jones joined AP in 2004 from Cap Gemini Ernst & Young
consulting firm, where she was an executive with the Media
and Entertainment team within CGE&Y’s Telecom Media
Networks practice.
Jim Williams,
53, senior vice president of Global Broadcast, who has presided
over enormous growth in AP’s global broadcast division,
has decided to retire from AP April 15. Williams departs the
news organization with an enviable track record of accomplishments
over the course of his 29-year career. Most recently, he was
responsible for the launch of AP’s Online Video Network,
the free, ad-supported video service that features unique
content with video packages specifically designed for the
Web.
In addition to sales, marketing and product development responsibilities,
the consolidated department directs AP's video and audio news-gathering
and has financial oversight of the photo, sports, financial
and entertainment products.
Last year AP announced a separate restructuring of its News
operation, and is in the process of consolidating U.S. editing
efforts at four new regional desks, to meet marketplace demands
of speed and multimedia. More recently, the cooperative also
has announced a fundamental restructuring of the way it prices
and packages its content for U.S. newspaper members.
About The AP
The Associated Press is the essential global news network,
delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world
to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today
is the largest and most trusted source of independent news
and information. On any given day, more than half the world's
population sees news from AP.
Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720
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