By Jennifer Saba
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Inc Chief Digital Officer Randall Rothenberg is heading back to the Interactive Advertising Bureau as the organization's president and CEO after just a month at the storied publishing company.
Rothenberg joined Time Warner publishing division Time Inc from the IAB, where he was its president and CEO.
"I am thrilled to be returning to IAB, to this superb team, and to a membership I feel honored to serve," Rothenberg said in a statement.
Rothenberg heads back to the IAB just days after Time Warner Inc ousted Jack Griffin, the chief executive officer of its magazine division, after fewer than six months into his job due to what insiders described as a polarizing management style.
Griffin defended his tenure at the company behind some of the most recognizable names on the newsstand, including People, Time and Sports Illustrated.
"I was recruited and hired by Time Warner to lead the business transformation of Time Inc, based on my clear record of success and results in the industry," Griffin said in his statement. "Every action I took over the past six months was made with that ultimate goal in mind. My exit was clearly not about management style or results."
Griffin recruited Rothenberg to develop and oversee Time Inc's digital operations.
"We considered him a valued and collegial member of our management team and hoped he would stay," Time Inc said in a statement issued by its management committee of senior executives currently running the company.
Time Inc said it planned to stay active as an IAB member and would continue to participate on its board.
The IAB is focused on interactive advertising and has more than 460 media and technology companies as its members.
Shares of Time Warner were down 1.4 percent at $37.66 in afternoon trading.
(Reporting by Jennifer Saba; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
