Gannett Initiates Leadership Succession Process
Business Wire 5-Dec-2018 4:00 PM
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) ("Gannett" or "company") today announced
that President and Chief Executive Officer Robert J. Dickey has informed
the company's board of directors of his intention to retire. The board
has initiated a succession process and has engaged an outside search
firm, Egon Zehnder, to assist in evaluating both internal and external
chief executive officer ("CEO") candidates. Mr. Dickey will continue to
lead the company as president and CEO during this process and has agreed
to stay on until May 7, 2019, or, if earlier, until a successor is named.
Mr. Dickey said, "With the support of the nearly 17,000 employees across
the company, we have created an organization well positioned to thrive
in the years to come. By combining our local and national news
organizations under the USA TODAY NETWORK to continue enhancing our
delivery of quality journalism to audiences advertisers want to reach,
and by acquiring marketing services businesses that enable us to offer
best-in-class digital marketing services, we have created an
organization that can serve the information needs of our communities
while at the same time making us the partner that businesses trust with
their marketing investments. In October, for example, the USA TODAY
NETWORK reached more than 129 million unique visitors with over 40%
between the ages of 21-44, positioning us as a leader across all age
groups, while on the digital marketing side our client base and average
revenue per client continue to grow. While the board undertakes its duty
to plan for the future, I will continue working hard alongside my
talented and dedicated colleagues to support Gannett's leadership,
continue our digital transformation and position our brands for
long-term success."
J. Jeffry Louis, chairman of the Gannett board of directors, said,
"Succession planning is one of a board's greatest duties, and we are
embarking on a deliberate and thoughtful process to identify the next
chief executive of Gannett. We will seek candidates who will support our
culture and bring the skills, experience and integrity needed to ensure
Gannett remains a news and digital marketing services leader. Under
Bob's leadership, Gannett has become the largest local-to-national media
network in the country, and the award-winning journalism the network has
produced has been extraordinary. Bob has also positioned Gannett at the
forefront of the digital transformation through key acquisitions such as
ReachLocal, SweetIQ and WordStream, which have enabled innovation and
made the company a leader in providing robust advertising and marketing
services sales solutions. We thank Bob for his 29 years of service to
Gannett and are grateful for his continuing leadership in creating value
for our customers and shareholders as we work to select his successor."
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not
historical facts. The words "believe," "expect," "estimate," "could,"
"should," "intend," "may," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "project" and
similar expressions, among others, generally identify forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date the statements were made and
are not guarantees of future performance. Where, in any forward-looking
statement, an expectation or belief as to future results or events is
expressed, such expectation or belief is based on the current plans and
expectations of our management and expressed in good faith and believed
to have a reasonable basis, but there can be no assurance that the
expectation or belief will result or be achieved or accomplished.
Whether or not any such forward-looking statements are in fact achieved
will depend on future events, some of which are beyond our control. The
matters discussed in these forward-looking statements are subject to a
number of risks, trends, uncertainties and other factors that could
cause actual results or events to differ materially from those
projected, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements,
including the matters described under the heading "Risk Factors" and
"Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results
of Operations" in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal
year 2017 and in the company's other SEC filings.
About Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI) is an innovative, digitally focused
media and marketing solutions company committed to strengthening
communities across our network. With an unmatched local-to-national
reach, Gannett touches the lives of more than 125 million people monthly
with our Pulitzer-Prize winning content, consumer experiences and
benefits, and advertiser products and services. Gannett brands include
USA TODAY NETWORK with the iconic USA TODAY and more than 100 local
media brands, digital marketing services companies ReachLocal and
SweetIQ, and U.K. media company Newsquest. To connect with us, visit www.gannett.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20181205005734/en/
