NEW YORK, August 27, 2014 – Hunter Lewis has been appointed Editor of Time Inc.’s Cooking Light, it was announced today by Evelyn Webster, Executive Vice President, and Norman Pearlstine, Chief Content Officer. Lewis, Executive Editor of Cooking Light’s sister brand Southern Living, succeeds Scott Mowbray, who is retiring after a 17-year career at Time Inc. Lewis, based in Birmingham, AL, begins his new position on September 22 and will report into Group Editor Sid Evans.

 

Webster commented: “Hunter has rich experience spanning both journalism and the culinary world, as well as a profound skill for translating storytelling to digital, social and event platforms. His vision, talent and passion will take Cooking Light and its expanded offerings to the next level.”

“With his unique background, innovative thinking, and strong leadership skills, Hunter is the ideal choice to guide the Cooking Light franchise as it leads the conversation about two national obsessions – food and wellness,” said Pearlstine. “With Hunter at the helm, Cooking Light will continue to inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle through great tasting food.”

Evans added: “Hunter is the perfect person to lead Cooking Light into the future, and we are very grateful to Scott for building Cooking Light into the multi-platform epicurean powerhouse that it has become under his leadership.”

As Executive Editor of Southern Living since 2012, Lewis oversaw the brand’s extensive food-related content in print and online and managed the test kitchen team that tests over 5,000 recipes annually. Prior to joining Southern Living, Lewis was Food Editor of Bon Appétit and Kitchen Director of Saveur. Previously, Lewis collaborated on various cookbooks, including Chef Jonathan Waxman’s A Great American Cook, and The Lee Bros. Southern Cookbook by Matt and Ted Lee. He also cooked in Chef Waxman’s kitchen at Barbuto, a New York City restaurant, in addition to other restaurants nationwide. Lewis began his career as a journalist at The Herald–Sun newspaper in Durham, NC. In Lewis’ own words, he “got bit by the cooking bug” when he worked at a restaurant during the summer before his freshman year at UNC Chapel Hill, where he received a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication/News Editorial. He’s been cooking professionally and writing about food ever since.

“As a passionate cook and journalist, I couldn’t be more excited to lead this award-winning brand and marry Cooking Light’s tried and true recipes with smart wellness coverage,” said Lewis. “We will do this in fun and new ways on multiple platforms.”

Mowbray has made innumerable contributions to Cooking Light and Time Inc. Under his leadership, the magazine garnered James Beard recognition for the first time, including two awards, and Mowbray launched the magazine’s Quick & Health Menu-Maker App in 2011, collecting an ASME nomination. Previously, he relaunched Health.com, and before that was Editorial Director of the Time Inc. acquisition, Time4 Media, and Editor of Popular Science. Mowbray came to Time Inc. as Managing Editor of the newly formed Custom Publishing division and produced more than 30 publications.

Cooking Light is performing strongly on all platforms. The brand holds the number one share position for ad pages year-to-date (January-September) and reaches 11 million consumers in print, including 9.2 million women – the most women in the epicurean category (source: 2014 Spring MRI). With a social media following of more than 3.5 million, Cooking Light generates 4.1 million uniques and 28 million page views per month on CookingLight.com (source: ComScore). Cooking Light’s licensed line of products includes a prepared food line at BJ’s Wholesale Clubs and at 200+ Super Target locations, along with a line of Soda Stream flavors available at Walmart locations nationwide.

About Time Inc.

Time Inc. (NYSE: TIME) is one of the largest media companies in the world reaching more than 130 million consumers each month across multiple platforms. With influential brands such as TIME, PEOPLE, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Real Simple, Wallpaper, Travel + Leisure and FOOD & WINE, Time Inc. is home to celebrated events and franchises including the FORTUNE 500, TIME 100, PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive, Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year, the FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen and the ESSENCE Festival.

About Cooking Light

Cooking Light is one of the largest epicurean magazine brands in the U.S. and is uniquely positioned at the intersection of great-tasting food and good health. The brand delivers innovative recipes, nutrition advice, and resources to live a healthful lifestyle via its magazine, website, and portfolio of cookbooks; across all tablets; through the highly-acclaimed Cooking Light Quick & Healthy Menu Maker app; and on social media platforms, including, Facebook, (Twitter (@Cooking_Light), Pinterest, (Instagram (@cookinglight), and Google+. In 2013, Cooking Light received two James Beard Foundation Book, Broadcast and Journalism Awards. Cooking Light is owned by Time Inc., one of the largest media companies in the world.

#  #  #

CONTACTS:

Jill S. Davison
jill.davison@timeinc.com
212.522.0105