American Media, Inc. Names Michael Esposito SVP of Operations and Digital Production

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- David J. Pecker, Chairman, President and CEO of American Media Inc. (AMI), today announced the appointment of Michael Esposito as Senior Vice President of Operations and Digital Production.

Dr. Esposito will be responsible for AMI's operations including manufacturing, paper procurement, transportation, prepress, and digital workflow.

Most recently, Dr. Esposito was Vice President of Operations and Digital Systems at Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., In this position, he oversaw a 35 person staff nationwide, and introduced new management initiatives over a 3 year period that led to a significant reduction in company costs. Dr. Esposito's career with Hachette Filipacchi Media began in 1995 as Production Director, after which he became the Director of Operations before taking on his most recent role as VP. Esposito holds a Doctorate degree in International Business Management from Pace University.

"I am very excited about joining AMI. I look forward to working with the team to deploy cutting edge technologies and cross media platform solutions," Esposito said.  These upgrades will bring AMI's well recognized industry production services to the next level and will provide our clients with the competitive advantage required to meet their growing media delivery objectives."

Mr. Pecker commented, "This is a tremendous hire for us; not only because of Michael's expertise on the print side but because he is the foremost industry authority on transitioning print to digital—an area that is one of our key targets for growth in 2011."

Dr. Esposito will report to Mr. Pecker effective February 14, 2011.

Also joining AMI are Mark Eisner, Director of Supply Management and Stephen Romeo, Production Director; both of whom worked under Esposito's leadership while at Hachette.

Mr. Eisner brings with him more than 25 years of experience in procurement/sourcing. In his most recent position as Vice President of Procurement, Mr. Eisner successfully improved company costs through his knowledge of strategic sourcing and development of supplier partnerships.

As Director of Supply Management at AMI, Mr. Eisner will be responsible for the company's paper procurement for approximately 60 thousand tons of paper annually.

Mr. Romeo was most recently Director of Strategic Sourcing where he implemented a digital workflow using cutting edge technologies to cut annual procurement costs by $3 million. He created and refined process maps for various operational functions, including e-reader workflows and other digital-based initiatives.

In his new position as Production Director, Mr. Romeo will be in charge of all aspects of production, including prepress, quality control, editorial production scheduling, and printer coordination and communication.

AMI Vice President of Manufacturing, Rob O'Neill added, "I'm thrilled that Mike, Mark and Steve will be joining our team.  They are highly respected and knowledgeable pros who will make our already talented team world class."

Mr. Eisner and Mr. Romeo will report to Mr. O'Neill effective February 14, 2011.

About American Media, Inc.

American Media, Inc. is the leading publisher of celebrity journalism and health and fitness magazines in the U.S.  These include Star, Shape, Men's Fitness, and Natural Health.  In addition to print properties, AMI manages 14 different web sites. The company also owns Distribution Services, Inc., the country's #1 in-store magazine merchandising company.

SOURCE American Media, Inc.