The MPA, or Association of Magazine Media (formerly known as the Magazine Publishers Association) has tapped its former chief government affairs lobbyist as president and CEO as it prepares officially open its new headquarters in Washington, DC on Jan. 1.
The consumer magazine trade group promoted Brigitte Schmidt Gwyn, who was the executive vice president of government affairs for the organization, to the top job. She succeeds Linda Thomas Brooks, a veteran of the advertising agency world, who joined the MPA in January of 2016.
The trade group that represents about 75 consumer magazine companies announced in July it was moving its HQ to DC after 100 years in New York City. At the time, it said it didn’t plan to name a successor and noted that Gwyn would be its most senior executive, running the DC office.
The trade group was once famous for glitzy three day conventions in warm weather locales that over the years attracted aspiring presidential candidates including John McCain and Barack Obama as well as retired General Norman Schwarzkopf. But it cut back dramatically on the entertainment and recreation following the 2008 recession as many of its biggest members were gobbled up in mergers and the survivors wrestled with changing media patterns that downsized print.
The conventions shifted emphasis from golf, tennis and swanky dinners to more nuts-and-bolts issues, including outreach to advertisers and day-long seminars in New York. The MPA’s role in Washington took on greater urgency in recent years on matters ranging from privacy issues to rising postal rates.
“Brigitte brings the policy and leadership experience needed to guide MPA as its members increase engagement with policymakers on issues affecting their businesses and consumers,” said Tom Harty, president and CEO of Meredith Corp. and chairman of the board of MPA.
Gwyn has held past government affairs jobs with Accenture and the Kellogg Company.
As part of the new regime, Emily Emery has joined the MPA as director of digital polity. Previously, she was director of government affairs for the software company Twillo.
The promotion is likely to mean a big pay hike for Gwyn. Brooks was pulling in compensation of $915,261 a year, according to the company’s IRS filing. Gwyn’s predecessor in government affairs was making only $292,495 a year in 2017.
