The Paley Center for Media Board Names Maureen J. Reidy as President and CEO

NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES, May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Paley Center for Media announced today that its Board of Trustees has appointed Maureen Reidy as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Ms. Reidy previously held the role of chief marketing officer and acting chief operating officer at the Paley Center.

"There is no better person to lead the Paley Center than Maureen Reidy, and after an extensive nationwide search we were so pleased to select our new president & CEO from within the Paley Center family," said Frank A. Bennack, Jr., executive vice chairman of Hearst Corporation and chairman of the Paley Center Board.  "Maureen has a proven track record as a strong, respected leader and provides a business-minded approach that will build upon the Paley Center's great success and take us to even greater heights."

Maureen Reidy previously held the positions of chief marketing officer and acting chief operating officer of the Paley Center, having joined the organization in 2013. "I'm honored to have been chosen by Frank Bennack and the Paley Center Board to serve as president and CEO and to continue Pat Mitchell's amazing work," said Ms. Reidy.  "It's a dynamic time in the media industry, and I'm excited to lead the Paley Center into a new period of growth.  With the Paley Center's unmatched convening power, unparalleled programs, and with one of the best teams in the business, the future is bright and the opportunities are limitless."

Pat Mitchell, who has served as president & CEO of the Paley Center since 2006, will be stepping into a new role as executive vice chair. "Having worked with Maureen for the past year, I know that she is absolutely the right leader at the right time for the Paley Center," said Ms. Mitchell. "For the past eight years I've worked with a truly remarkable team and been honored to steer the Paley Center through a game-changing rebranding campaign and introduce innovative programming, attracting high profile leaders in entertainment, technology, business, politics, and policy. I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to continue working with them in my new role as executive vice chair."

About Maureen J. Reidy
Maureen Reidy is a seasoned executive with more than 20 years experience, having recently served as CEO of The Argus Group, a full-service strategic marketing agency that served a cross section of blue chip entertainment, media, sports and municipal clients.  Previously, Ms. Reidy served as Chief Operating Officer of IMG Fashion, where she was responsible for the day-to-day worldwide operations and was charged with expanding its portfolio of media assets. Prior to IMG, Ms. Reidy was selected by Mayor Bloomberg to join his administration and served as CEO of NYC Big Events and as the City's Chief Marketing Officer.

She also served on the NYC Economic Development Advisory Council, the Mayor's Commission on Latin Media & Entertainment, and also served as Chief Operating Officer of NYC Host Committee for the 2004 Republican National Convention. Before joining the Bloomberg Administration, Ms. Reidy worked for Donald J. Trump initially as Chief Internal Auditor and then – at the age of 26 – became President of one of his newer acquisitions, The Miss Universe Organization, a joint venture with CBS.  Ms. Reidy serves on the Board of Directors for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Dream Team.  She was named by Crain's New York Business as one of the magazine's "40 under 40."

About Pat Mitchell
Assuming the role as president and chief executive officer of The Paley Center for Media (formerly The Museum of Television & Radio) in March 2006, Mitchell has guided the institution (founded in 1975) through an exciting rebranding effort and strengthened its public and industry programs by analyzing and interpreting the immense changes in the media landscape. Under her leadership, the Paley Center has become a major convener for media leaders and enthusiasts, continuing to offer its unrivaled collection of radio, television, and advertising content as a lens for exploring the powerful impact of media on our lives, culture, and society.  Mitchell has been honored numerous times for her achievements, and  she was featured in Fast Company's Special Report The League of Extraordinary Women.  Most recently the Women's Media Center honored her by naming the Pat Mitchell Lifetime Achievement Award to be given to an outstanding woman in media annually.

Mitchell came to The Paley Center for Media from the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where she was named president and chief executive officer in March 2000, the first woman and first producer and journalist to hold the position. During her tenure, she oversaw the development of many new projects, including a celebrated new series for children focusing on teaching literacy skills and celebrating diversity, a testament to her belief in the power of media to empower and inform. She also led public broadcasting into the digital future with such initiatives as the conversion from analog to digital broadcasting, the launch of a high-definition PBS channel and an on-demand and cable preschool children's service, the growth of PBS's website into one of the three most visited sites on the Internet, and the establishment of the Digital Future Initiative to help define models for public service media using new digital technologies.

About Frank A. Bennack, Jr.,
Frank A. Bennack, Jr., is only the second chairman in the history of The Paley Center for Media, having succeeded the founder, William S. Paley upon his death in 1990.  Bennack is executive vice chairman of Hearst Corporation, one of the nation's largest private companies engaged in a broad range of publishing, broadcasting, cable networking and diversified communications activities. He is also chairman of the Corporation's Executive Committee, a director of Hearst Corporation and a trustee of The Hearst Family Trust established under the will of William Randolph Hearst. In addition, he sits on a number of corporate committees and the Hearst Foundations Boards where he has served for more than 25 years.

Bennack served as Hearst's CEO for more than 28 years. He directed the company through an unprecedented period of growth from when he began his first tenure as CEO in 1979 through June 2013. Today, Hearst is comprised of some 200 businesses and 25,000 employees.

Under his leadership, the company launched three leading cable networks with its partner ABC (now the Walt Disney Company), A&E, HISTORY and Lifetime, and invested in the ESPN family of networks, now in 190 countries and territories. On Bennack's watch, Hearst has marched toward diversification and global expansion.

Prior to his first tenure as chief executive, Bennack served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Corporation and, prior to that, as vice president and general manager of the Hearst Newspaper Group. He also served in a variety of management posts, including a seven-year tenure (1967 to 1974) as publisher and editor of the San Antonio Light.

Bennack is a director of Polo Ralph Lauren Corporation. He is chairman of Hearst Magazines UK, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst Corporation. Bennack is also a governor and chairman of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and its Healthcare System, a managing director of the Metropolitan Opera of New York, chairman emeritus of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

He was the 1992-93 chairman of the Newspaper Association of America (formerly the American Newspaper Publishers Association).

As a teenager, the San Antonio native was host of both television and radio programs. He eventually entered publishing in his hometown, and rose from classified advertising salesman to newspaper publisher by the age of 34.

CONTACT: Carrie Oman, 1-212-621-6785, [email protected]

SOURCE The Paley Center for Media