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CHRISTIE HEFNER SET TO STEP DOWN AS PLAYBOY CEO AT THE END OF JANUARY 2009
By: Andy Powell, Staff Writer - 12:00 a.m. PDT - 12-09-08
It was reported yesterday at marketwatch.com, that Playboy CEO Christie Hefner will be resigning as CEO of Playboy Enterprises, Inc after more than 23 years at the company her father founded.
Playboy has been effected by the huge down turn in the Adult Entertainment Industry. With a string of quarterly losses, and a complete revamp of the businesses expenses which included a drastic cut of $ 12,000,000.00 per year as well as cutting 80 employees, Christie Hefner also felt that it was time to step down to pursue other ventures.
A major dip in advertising revenue let the company to a $5.2 million loss in the third quarter of 2008. Playboy Enterprises also announced last month that they had closed down their DVD business and has taken steps to consolidate their West Coast offices.
Chairman of the Board Hugh Hefner, will remain on the board until her replacement is found, the Chicago-based company said today in a statement.
Long time friend and associate of Hugh Hefner, Jerome Kern, who joined Playboy’s board of directors in 2002, will serve as interim non-executive chairman.
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Kern, 71, has been a partner in Enki Strategic Advisors, consultants to the broadband industry, since 2007, and president of Kern Consulting since 2001. Prior to that, Kern was chairman and CEO of On Command Corp. Prior to his position at On Command, he served as vice chairman and a member of the board of directors of Tele-Communications Inc.
For 20 years now, Kern has been the principal outside legal counsel to TCI and Liberty Media Corporation, including from 1992 to 1998, when he served as senior partner of the law firm Baker & Botts Associates.
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Hefner joined Playboy in 1975 and rose to CEO in 1988, guiding the adult giant into television, video and the Internet.
In an appearance on CNBC today, Hefner said she “wouldn’t be able to step down if the company weren’t in such strong shape.”
“Playboy Enterprises Inc. has literally and figuratively been my life and career for more than 30 years,” Hefner said. “I have had a remarkable career with Playboy. I never expected to go into the family business, much less to stay here this long, but I have enjoyed the challenges and opportunities the past decades have presented."
Negotiations for Hefner's and Kern's compensation package were not available at press time. Playboy Enterprises did state that it will disclose the compensation package later on in their SEC regulatory filings.
