Penton CEO Reshuffles Management Team
By Margo McCall -- Tradeshow Week, 7/5/2004
Just days after Penton Media's board picked David Nussbaum to replace eight-year CEO Thomas Kemp, Nussbaum announced a substantial restructuring of his management team.
As expected, COO Dan Ramella is among the upper management members to depart. Ramella, who also oversaw the company's industry and retail media division, will not be replaced. Preston Vice will step down as CFO, but will continue in his role of corporate secretary. Vice plans to continue to act as CFO until a replacement is named.
William Donohue, who joined Penton when it bought Donohue-Meehan Publishing, will leave the company, giving up his management of Penton's retail media properties. The final upper-level management departure is human resources head Katherine Torgerson, who will be replaced by Colleen Zelina, with Penton for five years.
Also, Penton is opting to outsource its list sales, prompting the layoff of six employees. Since 2002, Penton has laid off more than 700 employees and closed 30 offices.
The company plans to take a second-quarter charge in connection with the overall restructuring. Nussbaum said he believes the company is much better positioned for growth now that a new management team is in place.
"All of the changes are aimed at accelerating product and service development, driving revenue growth and flattening the company's organizational structure for improved operating and cost efficiency," Nussbaum said.
To encourage the free flow of ideas, the company will no longer be divided into two divisions, one covering industrial and retail media and the other overseeing technology and lifestyle products.
With Penton for 27 years and COO since 1990, Ramella helped Kemp orchestrate a growth strategy that relied heavily on technology investments. While generating astounding revenue gains during boom times, the strategy resulted in steep revenue declines when tech markets collapsed.
Several executives will be taking on additional responsibilities. Nussbaum will oversee the industry media business for which Ramella had oversight. Darrell Denny, who heads the information technology media group and New Hope Natural Media, will add retail media properties to his portfolio.
In the financial realm, James Ogle, with the company three years, will be promoted from division finance director to corporate director of finance.
Nussbaum, who officially started as CEO on July 1, said Penton's greatest priority now is generating revenue and keeping costs low. "My goals are to really pursue the tripod approach to sector management, meaning that within every sector we serve we're going to attempt to provide that sector with a full range of media opportunities," he said.
Nussbaum added that he wants to encourage community-building within the sectors and offer solutions that customers want. An 18-year Miller Freeman veteran and Penton executive vice president since 1998, Nussbaum said he's excited about the opportunity to head the century-old Cleveland-based company.
He listed among its assets strong brands and a smart and creative workforce. At the same time, Nussbaum acknowledged that morale isn't exactly at an all-time high. But, he added, "I think people feel better today than they did last year and the year before."
Nussbaum said he expects events to play "an important part in our company's future." And although the company for the past two years has been focused on the bottom line, Nussbaum said that doesn't mean that Penton won't launch new products soon.
