Fresh from finalising a major corporate reorganisation, Time Inc has also reshuffled leadership within its in-house legal team with the appointment of Lauren Ezrol Klein as general counsel.
Klein steps up from the role of deputy general counsel and will succeed Lon Jacobs who will be leaving Time Inc in early September. She will report to chief executive and chairman Joe Ripp.
Having joined the magazine publisher in 1996, Klein has worked on major acquisitions, dispositions and other transactions for the company, and played a leading role in the high-profile spin-off from Time Warner Inc two years ago.
The second most senior lawyer at the publisher since 2014, she has overseen the corporate legal group, including the company’s transactional, public company, corporate governance, corporate contracts and non-editorial businesses’ legal work.
She further managed the legal department’s M&A and securities function and has worked closely with the board of directors.
Klein has specialised in corporate law for 25 years, beginning her career as an associate at New York blueblood Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
‘With her experience and skills, Time Inc is very fortunate to have someone of Lauren’s calibre take on the critical general counsel role. I’m delighted to have her on my executive leadership team,’ said Ripp.
The appointment follows the magazine’s restructuring in recent weeks where an estimated 110 people across the company were expected to be made redundant, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal. The downsizing comes as the publisher struggles with continued print-advertising declines as well as challenges from Facebook and Google. Constituting the largest magazine publisher in the US, and home to InStyle, Fortune and People magazine, Time Inc has forecast annual revenue growth of 1% to 5% this year, its first significant uptick in five years.
Other high-profile in-house moves across the pond includes Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals which appointed Christina Ackermann as its new general counsel as the company comes under scrutiny for its business and accounting practices.
sarah.downey@legalase.co.uk
