American Media, Inc. Names Joe Bilman As New Chief Digital Officer

NEW YORK, July 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- David J. Pecker, Chairman, President and CEO of American Media, Inc. (AMI), today announced the appointment of Joe Bilman as Chief Digital Officer (CDO) for AMI.  Mr. Bilman's role is a newly created position at AMI, as the publishing company further expands its digital platforms.  Mr. Bilman will report to Mr. Pecker.  His appointment is effective July 31, 2012.

In his new role, Mr. Bilman will be responsible for developing the company's digital growth strategy and managing the initiatives and implementation for all of AMI's magazines and their respective online properties, including websites, video, digital magazine editions, tablets and mobile apps and more.   He will be dedicated to digital brand expansion and new product development further engaging the AMI brand experience.

This past year AMI has seen tremendous advancement in their digital properties, including Shape.com, MensFitness.com and RadarOnline.com.  Shape.com is the fastest growing site in the women's health & fitness category, up by over 300% to 3.3 million unique visitors in less than a year.  MensFitness.com has doubled its online traffic to over 1 million unique visitors in less than six months, while RadarOnline.com is rapidly approaching 10 million uniques.

"Hiring Joe Bilman is a major step forward in our digital investment strategy to build AMI into a content centric company, one that rivals any other major publisher," said David J. Pecker, AMI's Chairman, President and CEO.  "Joe's abilities and impressive track record developing and leading digital operations in the media and mobile industry make him the perfect candidate to take AMI and its renowned brands to a whole new level."

Prior to joining AMI, Mr. Bilman was acting Head of Product for Isis Mobile Commerce, a joint venture in the NFC mobile wallet space between Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. In this consulting role, Mr. Bilman brought a new approach to product design that led to a redesigned mobile wallet and commerce product. Before Isis, Mr. Bilman was a member of the executive management team at Fox Mobile, where he pioneered the design and development of all Fox Mobile products in 34 countries. During his tenure there, he created Bitbop, the world's first commercial free, on-demand TV and movie subscription service available for smart phones, tablets and PCs. His leadership at Fox Mobile paved the way to a transformed mobile consumer experience, and was instrumental in driving a two-year turnaround that led to the successful sale of Newscorp's digital assets. Prior to Fox Mobile, Mr. Bilman was Chief Product Officer for Thumbplay Inc., where he designed industry-leading products for the company, which was ultimately sold to Clear Channel and re-branded as the new iHeart Radio service. 

A natural fit for AMI, Mr. Bilman is no stranger to the publishing industry.  He previously served as Vice President of Subscription Services at Rodale, Inc., where he led the migration to the Internet for the traditional publishing company.  While at Rodale, he transformed its well-known print titles into major online entities and completely redesigned ten magazine websites, establishing new online presence.  He was also that catalyst behind Rodale's partnership with NBC, creating and managing "The Biggest Loser Club" on the Web, building an online diet and fitness audience to accompany the hit television show.

"AMI stands at the ideal intersection of publishing and entertainment for me to bring my years of digital and mobile experience to the mix," said Mr. Bilman.  "I can contribute expertise across platforms in the pursuit of the ultimate consumer experience, delivered to any device, anywhere, at any time.  I am excited to drive digital development for AMI, the leading content provider in the celebrity lifestyle and male and female health and fitness genres."

Mr. Bilman is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts where he earned both a BFA in film & video as well as an MFA in computer art.

About American Media, Inc. American Media, Inc. owns and operates the leading print and digital celebrity and health and fitness media brands in the United States. AMI's titles include Star, OK!, National Enquirer, Globe, Soap Opera Digest, Shape, Men's Fitness, Muscle & Fitness, Flex, Muscle & Fitness Hers, Fit Pregnancy and Natural Health. AMI also manages 18 different digital sites including RadarOnline.com, OKmagazine.com, Shape.com, MensFitness.com, MuscleandFitness.com and FitPregnancy.com. AMI's magazines have a combined total circulation of almost 7 million and reach more than 55 million men and women each month. AMI's digital properties reach an average of 10 million unique visitors and 80 million page views monthly.

SOURCE American Media, Inc.