In the new role Arnaud de Puyfontaine will oversee the activities of Hearst Magazines in Spain, Italy, Holland, Germany and France.
The announcement was made by Duncan Edwards, president and CEO, Hearst Magazines International, to whom de Puyfontaine will continue to report. de Puyfontaine will assume his new responsibilities on September 1 and will remain based in London.
Hearst Magazines International is building a robust presence in Western Europe, launching Harper’s BAZAAR in Germany in September and in France in 2014, adding to its portfolio of 51 titles in the region, as well as 20 titles in the U.K.
Commenting on the appointment, Edwards said: “Arnaud has done a great job in the U.K. during a time of transition, successfully growing the core business, integrating the brands acquired in 2011 from Hachette and accelerating our digital activities. He has a strong management team in London and I am pleased that he will share his expertise with the leaders of our companies and our partners in Western Europe.”
“This is an exciting opportunity to build synergies across the European market, which I know well,” de Puyfontaine said. “I’m looking forward to working closely with the excellent country management already in place to build on our brands’ leadership in print and digital content.”
Before joining Hearst, de Puyfontaine served as president and CEO of Mondadori France overseeing a portfolio of 30 titles and group digital operations. Prior to that, he was chairman and CEO of the Emap France Group.
Earlier in his career, de Puyfontaine served in various positions at Le Figaro, was a project manager at Rhône-Poulenc Pharma in Indonesia and a consultant at Arthur Andersen. He is a graduate of the ESCP, the Institut Multimédias and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.
