Lagardere Active Appoints Steve Parr as President and Chief Executive of HFMUS

NEW YORK, Sept. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Didier Quillot, Chief Executive Officer of Lagardere Active (www.lagardere.com), parent company of Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., announced today that Steve Parr, an international media and publishing executive, will take over from Alain Lemarchand as President and CEO of the company. Lemarchand will be appointed in a new senior management position within Lagardere Active, effective October 1.

The appointment of Parr is the next step in a multi-year plan for HFMUS; one that began with the re-structuring and repositioning of the company for growth by Lemarchand, brought on as President and CEO by Quillot in September 2008.

Now that the company's portfolio repositioning and the new brand-centric organization is complete, HFMUS is well-oriented to capture growth. Ad pages, market share and financial numbers are improving in 2010.

Parr's main objectives will be to increase market share for all brands and maintain strong leadership of ELLE, to pursue the digital development in automotive through Jumpstart Automotive Group and women's segments (including Woman's Day), and to implement profitable marketing and monetization strategy integrating print and digital. He will leverage the brand-centric strategy and organization.  Finally, Parr's focus will be on increasing the business profitability.

Parr's publishing career spans over 25 years, two continents and includes books, magazines and online properties. He held numerous senior roles within several Pearson PLC operating companies within Canada, England and the US. Parr then went on to begin his career in magazine publishing and became President of Emap USA, President of Primedia Enthusiast Media and, most recently, President of Source Interlink Media. Parr holds a B.A. in Commerce and Economics from the University of Toronto.

Didier Quillot said, "Alain Lemarchand has been decisive in turning around our business and in implementing a new organization in the U.S. I thank him for this major and critical accomplishment. As President of Primedia Enthusiast Media and then Source Interlink Media, Steve Parr successfully developed and managed a wide array of profitable, multi-media properties encompassing websites, magazines, events, licensing, television and radio. His strong track record and experience in publishing will be of great benefit to HFMUS and will allow Lagardere Active to accelerate its development in the U.S."

About Lagardere Active

Lagardere Active, a subsidiary of Lagardere and a leader in the production and aggregation of multimedia content in France and internationally, was established as a new entity in 2006 uniting the company's print media, radio, television, advertising sales network and digital activities. In the U.S., Lagardere Active owns Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. (HFMUS) and Cellfish Media.

With its existing talent, resources, content and brands, Lagardere Active owns significant assets in France and around the world, and is looking for opportunities for growth whenever the right opportunities arise. Capitalizing on its expertise in specific sectors such as women, youth and music, the company continues to extend its know-how across a complete range of media including radio, television, magazines, websites and mobile.

About HFMUS

Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc., now branded as HFMUS (hfmus.com) is an innovation-driven company with a heritage as strong brand builders, experts and producers of credible content on all platforms including print, web sites, mobile, television, radio, events, books and other brand extensions.  We look to the future and create it, by developing new ideas and directions to deepen relationships making them more rewarding for our communities. Our engaged audiences of over 40 million people and editorial environments deliver rich opportunities for advertisers and partners. We produce brands in the following categories: Fashion, Beauty and Design (ELLE, ELLE DECOR, and ELLEgirl.com); Women & Wellness (Woman's Day, Woman's Day Special Interest Publications); Automotive (Car and Driver and Road & Track as part of Jumpstart Automotive Group); Motorcycling (Cycle World) and Entertainment (Premiere). HFMUS launched Glo, a new online women's lifestyle brand, with partners MSN and BermanBraun. HFMUS is part of Lagardere's (lagardere.com) media division Lagardere Active, a producer of special-interest content in more than 40 countries.

SOURCE Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., Inc.