PRESS RELEASE
TAD SMITH NAMED CEO OF REED BUSINESS INFORMATION
Company's Portfolio Includes Variety and Publishers Weekly
NEW YORK, November 9, 2005 - U.S.-based Reed Business Information announced the appointment of executive vice president Tad Smith as its chief executive officer. He succeeds CEO James A. Casella, who has been promoted to vice chairman of Reed Business. In his new role, Smith will report to London-based Reed Business chief executive officer Gerard van de Aast as well as join the Reed Business management board.
Reed Business Information (RBI) is a provider of business-to-business information, covering 23 market sectors with more than 100 publications, including Variety, Publishers Weekly, Interior Design, and EDN. RBI is a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc, a global provider of information-driven services and solutions.
Smith said of his new appointment: "RBI is tops in its industry, thanks to the leadership of Jim Casella, who guided us brilliantly through four years of market turbulence and change. There is still plenty of room for development and growth - especially in the electronic realm - and that will be my top priority."
"I know that the 3,000 employees of RBI have the brains, enthusiasm, energy, commitment, discipline, values and sense of humor to make our great organization better than ever, and I am honored to have the opportunity to lead them."
Currently age 40, Smith arrived at RBI in 2000, when it was called Cahners, as president of its Internet operations. Later that year, he was promoted to president of the Media Division, with overall business and editorial responsibility for print and electronic franchises including Variety, Daily Variety, Video Business, Publishers Weekly, Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News, TWICE and many others. He was also in charge of Marketcast, the rapidly growing entertainment research company. In late 2002, the retail group was added to his portfolio, including such franchises as JCK, Interior Design, and Home Textiles Today.
In 2003-04, Smith and his team negotiated a strategic relationship with Google to accelerate RBI's Web revenue growth as well as concluded a joint venture with International Data Group and the government of China to launch several magazines, including Variety, in local language editions for that country.
In January 2005, Smith was promoted to executive vice president of RBI and also given responsibility for Reed Construction Data and RSMeans, two leading construction information company. Also in 2005, Smith founded the Quills Book Awards in partnership with NBC Television.
Smith received his MBA from Harvard University, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar and a Horace W. Goldsmith Fellow, and his BA from Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, where he received the R.W. van de Velde Prize.
He serves an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University, where he created and teaches the advanced corporate finance and strategy course on entertainment, media, and technology companies.
His prior employers include Starwood Hotels, BMG Entertainment, and McKinsey & Company. His activities include serving on the advisory board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington; as chair of the New York Roundtable for CSIS; as a director of The Creative Coalition in New York City, and as a nominee of the Young Global Leaders for the 2006 World Economic Forum. He is a member of the Young President's Organization, the Economic Club of New York City, and the Harvard Business School Club of Greater New York.
Born in North Carolina, Mr. Smith grew up in Denver, Colo.
About Reed Business Information/Reed Elsevier:
Reed Business Information, as a business-to-business publisher in the U.S., offers business professionals in the media, manufacturing, electronics, construction and retail industries more than 100 market-leading business-to-business publications, 75 Webzines and Web portals, custom publishing, directories, research and direct-marketing lists.
Its parent company, Reed Elsevier Group plc, which employs more than 36,000 people worldwide, is a world publisher and information provider. It is owned equally by Reed Elsevier plc (NYSE: RUK) and Reed Elsevier NV (NYSE: ENL). Operating in the scientific, legal, educational and business-to-business sectors, Reed Elsevier provides high value and flexible information solutions to professional end users, with increasing emphasis on internet delivery.
Contact:
Salina Le Bris
Reed Business Information
slebris@reedbusiness.com
646-746-7771