Asset International's Jim Casella Named 2012 Top Innovator in Business Publishing by BtoB Media Business

NEW YORK, May 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Jim Casella, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Asset International, has been named a top innovator by BtoB Media Business in the small trade category.

According to BtoB Media Business, Casella received the award for the following reasons:

• During the depths of the financial crisis in 2008, he and Austin Ventures made a dramatic contrarian bet to purchase companies that, in aggregate, would be "a new, innovative iteration of a b-to-b media company" focused on providing "deep domain knowledge" to the global financial sector.
  
• From the start, Casella planned to build a company that "relied on data for a significant portion of its revenue" but could also provide information, analysis and consulting via various media. His acquisition of niche data-centric firms such as Strategic Insight, a provider of analytics and advisory services for the mutual fund sector, enables Asset International to generate "about half its revenue from data and business intelligence."
  
• The Award citation notes that Casella "has relied on his broad experience in b-to-b media" – Capital Cities/ABC, International Data Group, PennWell Corp. and Reed Business Information – to build a "truly global media company" distinguished by its "atmosphere of innovation."
  
• BtoB Business Media also highlighted the firm's recent "retro innovation" – the launch of Philanthropy Management, a print magazine.

The other CEO "innovators" named by BtoB are Doug Manoni of SourceMedia (large trade) and John Ridding of Financial Times (general business).

"I'm honored to have been selected for this prestigious award, amid such excellent company," said Casella.

About Asset International
Asset International is a privately-held provider of information and technology to global pension funds, asset managers, financial advisers, banking service providers, and other financial institutions in the private and public sector. Its industry-leading brands include Strategic Insight, SIMFUND, Plan For Life, PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, aiCIO, Global Custodian, and The Trade. The company has offices in New York, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne and Stamford, CT.

SOURCE Asset International