John Paton to Step Down as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Michael Wortsman, Former President of Univision Television to Serve as Interim CEO
New York, NY (January 6, 2010) – ImpreMedia, the nation's No.1 Spanish-language online and print news publisher, announced today John Paton would step down as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer effective, January 29, 2010.
“Since my partners and I co-founded the Company in 2003, I feel we have accomplished what we set out to do which was to build a truly national, multi-platform news company servicing the U.S. Hispanic community. From a single newspaper in 2003 to now nearly 100 products on seven media platforms, I believe we have done just that and positioned the Company for further growth in the future,” Mr. Paton said.
“I want to thank the employees, our investors – Clarity Partners, Halyard Capital and ACON Investments – and, in particular, the Lozano family for all of their support and commitment these past six and half years,” said Mr. Paton who will remain an investor, Director and consultant to the Company.
“On behalf of ImpreMedia’s Board of Directors and all of its investors, we thank John Paton for his inspirational leadership and vision at ImpreMedia,” said Steve Rader, Managing Partner at Clarity Partners. “John has been an important contributor to the Company since its inception and has developed an outstanding management team that is extremely qualified to lead ImpreMedia’s next stage of growth, added Bruce Eatroff, Partner at Halyard Capital.
“John will be working with the Board to ensure a smooth transition over the next month. We have initiated a search for a new permanent CEO and formed a search committee consisting of myself, Jose Lozano and Bruce Eatroff from Halyard Capital. We wish John the best of success in his next endeavor,” added Mr. Rader.
ImpreMedia also announced that Michael Wortsman has agreed to serve as Interim CEO of the Company during the transition. Mr. Wortsman joined Univision as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development in 1993. He helped build the company from eight originally-purchased stations to the current total of 62 stations, and he was named President of the Univision Television Group in 1997. Mr. Wortsman left Univision in April 2007 upon completion of its purchase by a group of five private equity firms for $14 billion.
Mr. Rader added, “I have known and worked with Mike Wortsman for more than 15 years and he will be a valuable resource to the Board and the Company. He has deep Hispanic media experience and will help the Board guide the Company forward.”
About
impreMedia
ImpreMedia is the No. 1 Hispanic News and Information Company
in the U.S. in Online and Print. ImpreMedia's multi-platform offerings
range from Online to Video, Mobile and Print and encompass 27
properties, including the portal http://www.impre.com and its McClatchy partners. 30% of all U.S. Hispanic adults use
an impreMedia product. The company is also the nation's largest
Hispanic newspaper publisher with newspapers in the top 7 U.S.
Hispanic markets, reaching 16 markets total that represent 63%
of the U.S. Hispanic population. Its leading publications include La Opinión in Los Angeles and El Diario La Prensa in New York. For more information, visit: http://www.impremedia.com.
ImpreMedia portals and publication websites can be accessed at: www.impre.com.
Contact: Marshall Genger, Chief Financial Officer, 212-807-4688, marshall.genger@impremedia.com
