Penton Does Restructuring; Company Wide Hiring Freezes; New Online Division
This story was written by Rafat Ali.
Penton Media, the trade media company now owned MidOcean Partners, Wasserstein & Co. and others, has done a major restructuring: firstly, it is forming an-unnamed digital media division, and Prescott Shibles, who had been VP-new media for Penton and its predecessor, Prism Business Media, since 2003, heads the new unit, reporting to Penton CEO John French, reports Btobonline. The company is also launching a Penton Portfolio ad network, which sells remnant online advertising for Penton sites to non-endemic advertisers and expanding it by inviting other B2B publishers to join.
At the end of 2007, the company's online revenue was north of $50 million and the department had grown to 123 people, it said.
Meanwhile, at the rest of the company, the picture is more dire: CEO French has called for salary and hiring freezes, and has launched a company-wide revenue reforecast for the remainder of 2008, reports Folio, citing an internal memo. "Based on our forecasts, we project considerable revenue challenges for the balance of the year." The salary freeze will continue until the company sees "indications of bottom-line improvement."
By Rafat Ali