Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. Names Steve Wilhite President & CEO, Jumpstart Automotive Media

Jumpstart is the Leading Digital Automotive Marketer with the Largest, Highest Quality Audience of In-Market Shoppers

NEW YORK, Feb. 25 -- Alain Lemarchand, President and CEO, Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFM U.S.) and Chairman of the Board of Jumpstart Automotive Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HFM U.S., announced today that Steve Wilhite has been appointed President & CEO of the San Francisco-based company. Wilhite, a veteran auto marketer with leadership experience at Volkswagen and Nissan, joined Jumpstart as president in mid 2008. This is a planned transition as former CEO and Founder Mitch Lowe leaves for an extended sabbatical. Lowe remains on the board of directors. Wilhite will report to Alain Lemarchand.

"We recruited Steve to strengthen our automotive expertise and provide innovative leadership," said Lemarchand. "He has proven to be an excellent fit for Jumpstart, and we have confidence that he will continue to grow the Jumpstart business. I want to thank Mitch for his many contributions to Jumpstart. As the founder, he deserves credit for the creation of a company that has grown into an industry leader. We hope that he enjoys his well-earned sabbatical, and we look forward to having him back on the board of directors when he returns."

"This is an extremely challenging time for the automotive industry," commented Wilhite. "I'm excited to be part of a company that is delivering extraordinary value, innovative thinking, and the largest, most diverse audience of in-market shoppers in the industry. We are perfectly positioned to help automotive marketers reduce cost and improve effectiveness by connecting them with people who are actively shopping for and researching cars and trucks."

"I'm taking a long planned sabbatical with the knowledge that Steve and the executive team have positioned the company for solid growth and future performance," said Lowe.

Jumpstart has been the fastest growing company in the digital automotive media category, growing revenue in 2008 by more than twenty percent. For the past four months, they have delivered the largest audience of in-market shoppers as measured by comScore.

Before joining Jumpstart, Wilhite served as COO of Hyundai North America. Earlier he was Vice President of Global Marketing Communications at Apple. He served as Vice President of Marketing at Volkswagen where he earned Brandweek's 'Marketer of the Year' for development of the 'Drivers Wanted' campaign and introduction of the new Beetle. Wilhite was also Vice President of Marketing at Nissan North America where he introduced Shift_ and later Senior VP of Global Marketing for Nissan and Infiniti.

Jumpstart Automotive Media (www.JumpstartAutomotiveMedia.com) is a leader in automotive marketing with the largest, highest quality audience of in-market shoppers online. Jumpstart improves the effectiveness and efficiency of automotive marketing through their audience, creative services, and market insights. Jumpstart customers include automotive manufacturers, regional dealer associations, and top automotive dealers. Additionally, Jumpstart has been on the forefront of behavioral targeting and extends its in-market audience of car shoppers via premier distribution partners. The portfolio of publishers include Vehix, Consumer Guide Automotive, JD Power Autos, Shopping.com, CarandDriver.com, RoadandTrack.com, CarSoup.com, U.S.News.com, HybridCars, and CarGurus. Jumpstart is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S.

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (www.hfmus.com) enthusiast brands and targeted media products reach nearly 60 million consumers through magazines, online and mobile content. The company's editorial hallmarks are trusted expert content along with independent product testing. Our prestigious brands fall into five sectors and include: Fashion (ELLE, ELLEgirl); Automotive (Car and Driver, Road & Track, Jumpstart Automotive Media); The Luxury Design Group (ELLE DECOR, Metropolitan Home, PointClickHome); Women & Health (Woman's Day and Woman's Day Special Interest Group) and Enthusiasts (American Photo, Boating, Cycle World, Flying, Popular Photography, Premiere and Sound & Vision). HFM U.S. Total Solutions marketing initiative packages these assets across brands and platforms with customized marketing programs. HFM U.S. is part of Lagardere's (www.lagardere.com) media division Lagardere Active, a producer of special interest content in over 40 countries.