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Stewart and Lyne Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia CEO Susan Lyne has stepped down. Two co-CEOs were named to take her place, the company announced.
Wenda Harris Millard, current media president, and Robin Marino, merchandising CEO, will report to chairman Charles Koppelman, writes Folio.
Lyne said in a statement that when she took on the role four years ago, the goal of the board was for her to rebuild the company and return it to profitability, which she has done. She said the company is on sound footing and the transition is expected to be very smooth.
Lyne was named CEO in 2004, taking the helm of the company as Martha Stewart began serving her sentence in prison.
The company reported a 2 percent increase in revenue in Q1, driven by ad-supported broadcasting and businesses. Publishing remained essentially flat. 2007 was a strong year for the company, which posted double-digit revenue increases in publishing and the internet during the fourth quarter.
While Lyne increased revenue and returned the company to a profit last year, the stock dropped 57 percent during her tenure, the Boston Globe points out.
RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank says that the destruction of value of the stock price did not come as a result of anything Susan Lyne failed to do, but was rather due to Stewart’s legal troubles and a slumping U.S. economy and advertising market.
Variety says there’s been speculation in recent days that Lyne could be headed for a top publishing spot at Time Warner. She is also seen as a possible candidate to run Oprah Winfrey’s cable venture with Discovery Communications.
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