Joseph Ripp, Time Inc.’s Unexpected CEO, Wants to Be Catalyst for Talent
Joseph Ripp, the newly appointed CEO of Time Inc., is what Donald Rumsfeld might call a known unknown. Mr. Ripp is a veteran of the media business, but when Time Warner announced his hiring on Monday morning, the response of several media analysts and gadflies was simply, “Who?”
Mr. Ripp was a dark horse in the race for the CEO post at Time Inc., whose portfolio includes brands such as Time, People, Sports Illustrated, InStyle, Fortune, Entertainment Weekly and Essence. For many observers, the surer bet — and the more exciting one — was former Time Inc. executive Michael Klingensmith, who left the company in 2008 and later became chief executive at the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Nor does the selection Monday match the statement made in 2011 when Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes named Laura Lang, a digital agency CEO without publishing experience, to lead Time Inc.
