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Time Inc. Appoints Martha Nelson Editor-in-Chief

Dec 18, 2012

NEW YORK, NY(December 18, 2012)– Time Inc. today announced the appointment of Martha Nelson to Editor-in-Chief. Ms. Nelson, who has been Editorial Director since 2010, will assume the top editorial position at Time Inc. in January 2013. She will become only the seventh Editor -in-Chief in the company’s 90-year history and the first woman to hold the role.

“Martha is the ideal leader to step into this role at this point in our company’s evolution,” said Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang. “She is a creative thinker with a visceral understanding of the consumer. And as we move to a multi-platform strategy, her strong consumer focus along with her broad understanding of both print and digital media will help ensure we make that transition successfully. She is one of the most respected and influential leaders in the publishing business and I’m delighted she will be our next Editor-in-Chief.”

“This is the most exciting time in our company’s history and I’m thrilled to take on the role of Editor-in-Chief,” commented Ms. Nelson. “We have a unique group of powerful brands led by talented and passionate people. Our commitment to journalistic excellence combined with our drive for innovation makes me confident in our future.”

Ms. Nelson has spent 20 years at Time Inc. — launching new franchises, reinvigorating others and amassing numerous honors along the way, including being named one of the World’s Most Powerful Women three years in a row by Forbes magazine. She was also selected as one of Variety’s inaugural Power Women in 2009 and named Editor of the Year by Adweek in 2006.

For the past two years, Ms. Nelson oversaw the print and digital editors of the 17 brands in the Style & Entertainment Group and Lifestyle Group as Editorial Director. In this role, she has been instrumental in developing the company’s multi-platform editorial strategy. Previously, she was editor for Time Inc.’s Style & Entertainment Group, a group editor for Time Inc., editor of the PEOPLE Group and the founding editor of InStyle.

Under Ms. Nelson’s leadership, InStyle was one of the most successful launches ever seen in publishing. Ms. Nelson built on InStyle’s success with international expansion, digital extensions, television specials and a collection of single topic issues. After InStyle she took the helm at PEOPLE, where she was credited with breathing new life into the brand at a time when celebrity weeklies were proliferating. She evolved the design and expanded its portfolio of editorial extensions, including PEOPLE.com – the number one celebrity magazine website — PEOPLE StyleWatch, and PEOPLE Country.

Earlier, Ms. Nelson was an assistant managing editor at PEOPLE where she was responsible for the human-interest segment of the magazine. She also worked on the launch of Time Inc.’s Who Weekly in Australia. Before she joined Time Inc., she was Editor-in-Chief of Savvy magazine and of Women’s Sports & Fitness; staff editor at Ms. Magazine and managing editor of Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society.

In addition to journalistic honors, Ms. Nelson has been recognized for her devotion to numerous causes over the years. She has received awards from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Planned Parenthood, the Whitman Walker Clinic, Women in Need and the Women’s Media Center among others. She is president of the board of the AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), serves on the Board of Directors for The Actors Fund and is a member of the NYU Board of Advisors at the Center for Publishing.

About Time Inc.
Time Inc., a division of Time Warner, is one of the largest branded media companies in the world. The company’s magazines reach more than 110 million Americans each month, and its websites attract nearly 50 million unique visitors each month. With influential brands such as TIME, PEOPLE, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, InStyle, and REAL SIMPLE, Time Inc. is home to celebrated events and franchises including the FORTUNE 500, TIME 100, PEOPLE’s Most Beautiful and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED’S Sportsman of the Year.

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Contact:

Teri Everett
212.522.5613
teri.everett@timeinc.com