Troy Young named president of Hearst Magazines – Info Advertisement

One month after David Carey surprised staff by announcing that he would leave the post of president at Hearst Magazines, the company has named his successor: Troy Young, who has spent the last five years as president of Hearst Magazines Digital Media.

Young is credited with building up Hearst Magazines’ digital operation, growing both its audience and revenue, according to a company memo.

“Troy understands how vital it is for our brands to engage more actively with consumers across platforms,” Hearst Chief Operating Officer Nark Aldam said in the memo. “His innovative approach to product development and high-quality brand experiences will continue to propel our industry-leading magazines forward.”

Before Hearst, Young held posts including president of Say Media and was an executive at Omnicom’s Organic, where he worked on campaigns for clients including American Express, Chrysler, and Bank of America. He is on the board of the Interactive Advertising Bureau.

In an interview with Ad Age editor in chief Brian Braiker for the Ad Lib podcast in March, Young dismissed descriptions of his managment style as aggressive. “I get really personal. Because I love people,” he said. “I love laughing at work. My own personal self-mentoring is never complete. And there were a lot of days when I go home and I think, ‘Oh my god like you’ve really fucked that up.’

Carey’s exit as president caught employees by surprise, though he said he’d told Hearst Corp. CEO Steve Swartz “for some time” of his goal to retire by 2019. He will continue as chairman of Hearst Magazines through the end of 2019, and will become a fellow at Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative in January.