????時(shí)代華納公司(Time Warner)CEO杰夫?比克斯日前宣布，喬?里普將出任時(shí)代公司(Time Inc.)新任CEO。現(xiàn)年61歲的里普曾任時(shí)代公司、時(shí)代華納以及美國(guó)在線(AOL)的CFO，現(xiàn)為OneSource Information Services公司的CEO。此前，比克斯曾經(jīng)為這家34億美元的出版子公司接連挑選了兩位外部人士CEO (杰克?格里芬，勞拉?朗)，但他們的表現(xiàn)都不盡如人意。因此，如今的里普被視為是一個(gè)相對(duì)安全的選擇。內(nèi)部人士相信里普能理解時(shí)常帶有政治色彩的時(shí)代公司文化，他敏銳的財(cái)務(wù)頭腦則有望帶領(lǐng)這家公司完成今年年底或明年年初可能進(jìn)行的剝離交易。

????另一位領(lǐng)先候選人也是曾經(jīng)的內(nèi)部人士邁克?克林史密斯，前時(shí)代公司CFO，目前管理著明星論壇報(bào)傳媒公司（Star Tribune Media Company）。但據(jù)接近公司的消息人士稱(chēng)，磋商止步于薪酬以及他希望留在明尼阿波利斯的想法。第三位曾經(jīng)出現(xiàn)的候選人名字是時(shí)代公司CFO霍華德?艾福瑞，日前他獲任母公司相同職位。時(shí)代華納的發(fā)言人沒(méi)有回復(fù)尋求置評(píng)的電話。

????將時(shí)代公司帶上市對(duì)于里普而言是一項(xiàng)嚴(yán)峻的挑戰(zhàn)，換做任何人也都一樣。里普是《財(cái)富》雜志銷(xiāo)售副總裁布蘭達(dá)?里普的父親，他必須說(shuō)服投資者們，多份印刷雜志資產(chǎn)有其價(jià)值。從《人物》(People)、《造型》(InStyle)、《時(shí)代》周刊(Time)到《財(cái)富》雜志，這些品牌都擁有輝煌的歷史，而且時(shí)至今日依然保持盈利。但它們正在面臨與其他出版媒體一樣的挑戰(zhàn)，時(shí)代公司的凈利潤(rùn)已經(jīng)連續(xù)7個(gè)季度下滑。另外，人們也不清楚時(shí)代華納將會(huì)選擇讓這家前子公司承擔(dān)多少債務(wù)。幾周前比克斯在一次宴會(huì)上對(duì)同事們講話時(shí)，用到了15億美元這個(gè)數(shù)字——《財(cái)富》雜志的一篇文章指出，這樣的數(shù)字可能會(huì)讓時(shí)代公司不堪重負(fù)。時(shí)代華納的一位發(fā)言人后來(lái)指出，比克斯只是“打個(gè)比方”。市場(chǎng)調(diào)研公司Gimme Credit的高級(jí)分析師戴夫?諾佛賽爾表示：“如果你看到業(yè)務(wù)快速增長(zhǎng)，那么負(fù)債越多越好。但很難說(shuō)這是一項(xiàng)高成長(zhǎng)性的業(yè)務(wù)。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)）

????譯者：早稻米

????Joe Ripp will be the new CEO of Time Inc., Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes announced today. Ripp., 61, a former CFO of Time Inc., Time Warner (TWX) and AOL (AOL), and currently the CEO of OneSource Information Services, was seen as a relatively safe choice after Bewkes's ill-fated selections of outsidersJack Griffin and then Laura Lang as the previous chiefs of the $3.4 billion publishing unit. Insiders perceive him as someone who understands the often-political Time Inc. culture but who also has the financial acumen to guide the company through a spinoff, expected later this year or early next year.

????The other top candidate for the job was another outsider-insider, Michael Klingensmith, himself a former Time Inc. CFO who now runs the Star Tribune Media Company. But sources close to the company say talks broke down over both salary and his desire to remain in Minneapolis. A third name that had surfaced, Time Inc. CFO Howard Averill, was named to the same position at the parent company today. A Time Warner spokesperson did not return a call seeking comment.

????Taking Time Inc. public will be a difficult challenge for Ripp -- or for anyone. Ripp, who is the father of Fortune's Vice-President of Sales, Brendan Ripp, must convince investors that there is value in a collection of print magazines. The brands themselves, which range from People to InStyle to Time and Fortune, have a distinguished history and they remain profitable overall. But they are facing the same challenges as all established media are and, as a result, Time Inc. earnings have dropped for seven straight quarters. Also unclear is how much debt Time Warner will choose to assign to its former unit. Bewkes used the number $1.5 billion -- a figure that a previous Fortune article argued might burden Time Inc. -- while speaking to colleagues at a dinner a few weeks ago. A Time Warner spokesman subsequently asserted that Bewkes was speaking in an "illustrative" manner. Says Dave Novosel, senior analyst at Gimme Credit: "If you see a resurgence in the business then more leverage is better. But it would be hard to argue that this is a high-growth business."