Todd Larsen Named CEO of Self-Publishing Specialist Blurb
Source: Dow Jones News
By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg
Todd Larsen, a former Time Inc. executive vice president, has been named chief executive of Blurb Inc., a closely held San Francisco-based technology company that enables people to self-publish books and magazines.
Mr. Larsen, 49 years old, succeeds Eileen Gittins, Blurb's founder, who will continue as executive chairman. Blurb enables authors to create physical and digital editions of their work and then sell those titles on such retail websites as Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc.'s iBooks Store.
"It's an opportunity to run a legacy business with a strong digital presence, an intersection where I've long worked," said Mr. Larsen, who joined Time Inc. in 2012 as president of its news and sports group. He left in December 2014 as part of a management reorganization.
Blurb competes with a number of self-publishers, including Amazon's CreateSpace unit, focusing primarily on illustrated works. Last week, Penguin Random House sold its self-publishing company Author Solutions to an affiliate of Najafi Cos., a Phoenix-based private-equity firm.
Prior to his stint at Time Inc., Mr. Larsen was president of Dow Jones & Co. from January 2010 to June 2012. Altogether he worked at Dow Jones for 13 years, including serving as chief operating officer and guiding the company's digital strategy. Dow Jones, a unit of News Corp., publishes The Wall Street Journal.
Ms. Gittins, who said she is the largest personal shareholder in Blurb, expects to focus on bringing new business to Blurb.
Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2016 09:14 ET (14:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Source: Dow Jones News
By Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg
Todd Larsen, a former Time Inc. executive vice president, has been named chief executive of Blurb Inc., a closely held San Francisco-based technology company that enables people to self-publish books and magazines.
Mr. Larsen, 49 years old, succeeds Eileen Gittins, Blurb's founder, who will continue as executive chairman. Blurb enables authors to create physical and digital editions of their work and then sell those titles on such retail websites as Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc.'s iBooks Store.
"It's an opportunity to run a legacy business with a strong digital presence, an intersection where I've long worked," said Mr. Larsen, who joined Time Inc. in 2012 as president of its news and sports group. He left in December 2014 as part of a management reorganization.
Blurb competes with a number of self-publishers, including Amazon's CreateSpace unit, focusing primarily on illustrated works. Last week, Penguin Random House sold its self-publishing company Author Solutions to an affiliate of Najafi Cos., a Phoenix-based private-equity firm.
Prior to his stint at Time Inc., Mr. Larsen was president of Dow Jones & Co. from January 2010 to June 2012. Altogether he worked at Dow Jones for 13 years, including serving as chief operating officer and guiding the company's digital strategy. Dow Jones, a unit of News Corp., publishes The Wall Street Journal.
Ms. Gittins, who said she is the largest personal shareholder in Blurb, expects to focus on bringing new business to Blurb.
Write to Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg at jeffrey.trachtenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 12, 2016 09:14 ET (14:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
