In the latest union between magazine publishing and Silicon Valley, Hearst Magazines CEO Troy Young tapped a Snapchat executive to head up marketing.
Kristen O’Hara, vice president of business solutions at Snapchat’s parent company Snap, has been given a new position at Hearst as senior vice president and chief business officer.
Taking over many of the duties that president of marketing and publications director Michael Clinton had been shouldering for the past nine years, O’Hara will be overseeing the sales and marketing of brands including Cosmopolitan, O: the Oprah Magazine, Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar and Good Housekeeping.
The hire marks the latest effort by a traditional publisher to hire outside of the print industry, whose advertising has been under pressure even as digital growth has slowed.
Conde Nast CEO Roger Lynch last week added two non-publishing executives to his C-suite. Deirdre Findlay from Stitch Fix, was named Chief Marketing Officer, and Mike Goss from the auction house Sotheby’s was named Chief Financial Officer.
Prior to her gig at Snap, O’Hara spent 16 years at Time Warner (now Warner Media) on brands that included HBO, Turner and Warner Bros. “Kristin brings a wealth of experience, solid relationships and innovative ideas to this new role,” said Young in a statement,” citing “her track record leading teams that sell across multiple brands and platforms.”
Clinton, 66, announced he was retiring in May after 21 years at Hearst and 44 years in the media world. He initially expected to leave on July 1 but stayed on as Young had not found a replacement.
Clinton is going to be a consultant to Hearst Corp. CEO Steve Swartz. Earlier this year, he released a book about running marathons on all seven continents entitled, “Tales from the Trails.”
Behind the scenes, Clinton’s seat on the board of directors at parent company Hearst Corp is now open. The privately held family owned media empire has long been known for magazines and newspapers such as the San Francisco Chronicle, but it also includes a 20-percent share of ESPN, a 50 percent stake in A&E, and the financial services company Fitch.
Hearst Corp. revenue last year hit $11.4 billion, up 4 percent, and the company said one third of its profit in now derived from medical data, software operations and business units including Fitch—and that number is expected to hit 40 percent this year.
