Moore, Ann 1950–

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Ann Moore
1950–

Chairwoman and chief executive officer, Time

Nationality: American.

Born: 1950, in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Education: Vanderbilt University, BS, 1971; Harvard Business School, MBA, 1978.

Family: Daughter of Monty Sommovigo and Bea (maiden name unknown); married Donovan Moore (private wealth manager for Bessemer Trust); children: one.

Career: Time, 1978–1979, financial analyst; 1979–1981, media manager of Sports Illustrated ; 1981–1984, assistant circulation director of Fortune, then circulation director of Money and then of Discover ; 1984–1988, general manager of Sports Illustrated ; 1988–1989, associate publisher of Sports Illustrated ; 1989–1991, founding publisher of Sports Illustrated for Kids ; 1991–1993, publisher of People ; 1993–1998, president of People ; 1998–2001, president of People group; 2001–2002, executive vice president; 2002–, chairwoman and CEO.

Awards: Matrix Award, Women in Communications, 1994; 50 Most Powerful Women in American Business, Fortune, 1998–2003; Civic Leadership Award, AOL Time Warner, 2003.

Address: Time, Rockefeller Plaza, New York, New York 10019; http://www.aoltimewarner.com.

■ Ann Moore was appointed CEO and chairwoman of Time, the magazine-publishing arm of the media and publishing company Time Warner, in July 2002. As president and publisher of the very popular People magazine in the 1990s, Moore expanded the weekly's circulation base and advertising revenue. She also successfully launched a group of new magazines, such as In Style, based on the premise of the flagship title. Colleagues and media commentators remarked on Moore's passion for magazine publishing, describing her managerial style as both personable and direct.

EARLY DECISION TO WORK FOR TIME

In 1971 Moore graduated with a degree in mathematics from Vanderbilt University in Nashville and then worked in bookselling in Boston. In 1978 she graduated with an MBA from Harvard Business School, where as one of only a handful of female MBA graduates she received 13 job offers. Moore was an avid magazine reader, and her ambition was to work in magazine publishing; she consequently accepted the lowest-paid job she had been offered, that of financial analyst at Time.

In her early years at Time, Moore gained experience in circulation and marketing. An avid sports fan, her first executive role was as media manager of Sports Illustrated in 1979. Two years later she was appointed assistant circulation director of Fortune before moving on to become the circulation director of Money and then of Discover. Moore returned to Sports Illustrated as general manager in 1984, becoming the magazine's associate publisher four years later.

Moore's ability to take a Time title to new readers was first demonstrated in 1989 when she was appointed founding publisher of Sports Illustrated for Kids. Drawing upon her existing client network, Moore paved the way for the new title by preselling advertising pages. She also established an unusually close working relationship between the magazine's editorial section and its marketing and circulation divisions. The founding editor of Sports Illustrated for Kids John Papanek later praised Moore's business model in which the metaphorical "church" and "state" were integrated in a highly effective manner.

EXPANDS AND DIVERSIFIES THE PEOPLE GROUP

In 1991 Moore became the publisher of People, a title appealing primarily to women, and two years later became the magazine's president. Moore believed that the very successful publication could grow larger still if marketed more specifically to readers interested in women's fashion and popular journalism. In an interview with Advertising Age in 2001 Moore referred to Time's "inability to understand you could make money marketing to women" (June 4, 2001). Until the 1990s Time published mainly financial and sporting magazines and marketed its titles almost entirely to an educated male readership.

Moore added beauty and fashion sections to People and changed its format from black-and-white to color. She also increased the proportion of advertising pages and changed the magazine's issue day from Monday to Friday so as to coincide with weekend shopping trips. Although the new direction in which Moore was taking the magazine met with a cautious response from Time senior management, her innovations proved successful. From 1991 People surpassed Time's traditional leader, Time magazine, in advertising revenue; by 2001 the gap had become considerable, with People earning $723.7 million to Time 's $666 million. In 2002 People earned one-third of Time's total revenues.

As president of People Moore established a pattern of successful magazine launches that further showed her all-around strengths in both the marketing and editorial aspects of magazine publishing. Along with spin-offs such as the Australian version of People, entitled WHO, Moore created four highly successful magazines at biyearly intervals between 1994 and 2000: In Style, People en Español, Teen People, and Real Simple.

In Style, launched in 1994, was the first magazine of its kind to include fashion, celebrity lifestyles, and shelter (interior design, architecture, and gardening) content. In Style reflected Moore's belief, expressed in a Brandweek interview in 1999, that "runway fashion didn't work and it was celebrities who were the trend spotters in America" (March 8, 1999). The new title drew cautious responses from both Moore's higherups at Time and sponsors but, as with the revamped People, was immediately successful with readers. By 2000 In Style was Time's 15th-biggest-selling title, with a circulation of 1.4 million.

Research into the cultural and demographic trends in the Latino and teenage communities preceded Moore's next new titles, People en Español and Teen People, launched in 1996 and 1998 respectively. The latter was simultaneously launched in print and online, reflecting the high Internet-literacy rates among teenagers. By 1999 People en Español was the most popular Spanish-language title in the country, and Teen People —then only a year old—ran second only to rival magazine Seventeen in advertising pages and circulation.

Moore's success in extending the People concept to new readers stemmed from her awareness of the importance of appointing the best and most suitably qualified executive teams to manage the new titles. This awareness was especially important at a company with little tradition in marketing magazines to female readers. Moore worked closely with her subordinate managers, such as People 's Nora McAniff, In Style 's Ann W. Jackson and People en Español' s Lisa Quiroz.

As a publisher Moore possessed what McAniff, in an interview with Brandweek, called "this homespun quality—that ability to just home in on what the average person on the street cares about" (March 8, 1999). This trait of Moore's was evident in her commitment to "cause marketing"—that is, the support of charities significant to one's clients. One such charity backed by Moore was Gilda's Club, a cancer support group named in honor of the comedienne Gilda Radner. Such corporate support affirmed the community-oriented values Moore believed to be prominent among her readers—and which she herself also held—while also increasing the profile of her magazines.

APPOINTMENT TO CEO/CHAIRWOMAN

In 1998 Moore was appointed president of the People group; in March 2001 she acquired responsibility for Time's Parenting group. Three months later she was appointed vice president to Time while still overseeing both the People and Parenting groups. Moore was appointed to the role of CEO and chairwoman of Time in July 2002, soon after the merger between Time Warner and AOL.

A "PEOPLE" PERSON

Moore's colleagues describe her as an extroverted and vibrant executive. McAniff, who described Moore as embodying the spirit of People, stated in Brandweek, "She loves the razzle dazzle, she loves the celebrities, she loves the glitz, and she's probably the first person who really has embraced that in a major way and helped bring the franchise to life for our constituencies, whether they're advertisers or consumers" (March 8, 1999). Critics, on the other hand, faulted Moore as brash, especially in contrast to the low-key style of the previous CEO and chairman Don Logan. Moore herself described her managerial style as collaborative, and she was known for treating her staff well.

PREPARES TIME FOR CHANGE AND NEW MARKETS

As the CEO and chairwoman of Time, Moore appointed two new vice presidents, McAniff and John Squires, previously the president of Entertainment Weekly. She emphasized Time's long-term financial objectives over quarter-to-quarter performance and promised both acquisitions and launches of new titles. In late 2002 she announced the closure of Sports Illustrated Women and Mutual Funds. In April 2004 Moore announced the establishment of a new low-price monthly women's title, All You, to be launched in September 2004. Moore served on the boards of directors of Avon Products and the Wallace Foundation.