Brette E. Popper Named President of Individual Investor Group
16 September 1998
Brette E. Popper Named President of Individual Investor Group; All-Star Team Assembled to Drive Multimedia Company's Growth
NEW YORK, Sept. 16 -- Individual Investor Group, Inc.
, publisher of Individual Investor and Ticker magazines and
Individual Investor Online (http://www.iionline.com), has named Brette E. Popper
President of the company. Ms. Popper comes from Gannett's USA Weekend, where
she was President and Publisher from 1990 to 1996.
Jonathan Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer of Individual Investor Group,
said: "Brette's strong background in publishing and advertising will be an
enormous asset to us. She is the perfect person to oversee day-to-day
business at Individual Investor Group. She is dynamic and has a proven track
record of running successful publications. Brette will play a key role in
achieving the company's revenue, circulation and other business targets."
"Individual Investor Group is poised for tremendous growth," Popper said.
"Our combined audience of nearly one million people makes us a potential
powerhouse in the financial information business."
The appointment of Ms. Popper caps a string of strategic moves over the
past six months aimed at strengthening Individual Investor Group, including
the hiring of Mark MacDonald as Group Publisher, Michael G. Valentin as
Director of Internet Technology, Greg Barton as General Counsel, and Steven
Taub as Editor of Individual Investor Online. In addition, Mitchell Scherr
was promoted to Director of Internet Services, Hank Clark was made Vice
President of Finance, and Harvey Lichtman became publisher of Ticker magazine.
NEW LEADERSHIP TEAM
Ms. Popper will be heading up Individual Investor Group's senior
management team. Mark MacDonald, founding Publisher of Men's Journal and a
U.S. News & World Report veteran, was named Group Publisher in May. Michael
G. Valentin, formerly Time Inc.'s Director of New Media Operations, was
hired as Director of Internet Technology for Individual Investor Online. Greg
Barton has joined the company as General Counsel; previously he was General
Counsel at Alliance Semiconductor Corporation, where he developed an
outstanding background in law and technology. Steven Taub recently has been
hired for the newly-created position of Editor of Individual Investor Online,
following 18 years at Financial World, where he most recently was
editor-in-chief.
Several long-time Individual Investor employees have also recently been
promoted to senior management positions. Mitchell Scherr was named Director
of Internet Services, where he is overseeing business development and content
partnerships for Individual Investor Online. Hank Clark is the new Vice
President of Finance, and Harvey Lichtman was named publisher of Ticker
magazine, which is enjoying strong circulation and advertising growth under
his leadership.
CEO Steinberg said: "The pieces are all in place for us to move toward our
goals: to improve the quality of our publications and to achieve
profitability. Our print and online products are among the best in the field,
and Individual Investor's management team is poised to substantially grow our
revenues and content."
ABOUT BRETTE POPPER
Prior to joining Individual Investor Group, Ms. Popper was President and
Publisher of Gannett's USA Weekend. Her responsibilities included day-to-day
management of all aspects of the publication's business, including editorial,
financial, production, marketing, and strategy. In less than six years she
increased circulation 25 percent to 20 million and increased revenues from
$40 million to $100 million. From 1985 to 1989 Ms. Popper held several
positions at USA Weekend, including Vice President and National Advertising
Director. Since 1996, she has served as President of Quest magazine and
Corporate Vice President of Business Development for Meigher Communications,
the magazine's parent company. She was responsible for generating 40 percent
advertising growth in 1997, managing the conversion from controlled to paid
circulation, and implementing the first marketing and circulation programs in
the magazine's history.
Ms. Popper, 40, holds a BS magna cum laude from Boston University School
of Public Communication.
ABOUT INDIVIDUAL INVESTOR
Launched in May 1997, Individual Investor Online is the companion site to
Individual Investor magazine -- which Adweek has named one of the ten hot
"Up-and-Comer" consumer publications for the last two years. Individual
Investor Online has consistently delivered the highest quality investing and
financial information to its subscribers and maintains strategic content
delivery partnerships with the Internet's most visited sites including
AltaVista, CNET, Yahoo!, Cox Interactive Media, Quote.com, PointCast,
WhoWhere?, Planet Direct, and AOL's Digital City New York. To date,
Individual Investor Online has attracted over 115,000 registered users.
Individual Investor Group, Inc. is an information services company that
publishes and markets Individual Investor magazine (circulation 500,000+),
Individual Investor Online (http://www.iionline.com), Individual Investor's
Special Situations Report and Ticker magazine.