Fairchild Media Taps Amanda Smith as President

Fairchild Media, a division of Penske Media Corp., today announced the appointment of Amanda Smith as president.

Smith — who was most recently VP, publisher at Fast Company — will lead sales, marketing, live media and business operations across WWD, Footwear News, Sourcing Journal and Beauty Inc. Smith’s appointment is part of a strategic shift that will for the first time bring all of PMC’s leading fashion brands under a single leadership and growth strategy.

“Amanda is a strategic sales leader with an impressive breadth of knowledge when it comes to innovations that join quality content with new revenue streams,” said PMC chairman and CEO Jay Penske. “I look forward to working with her as we advance the Fairchild business.”

Smith will oversee all revenue streams, including advertising, events, subscriptions and e-commerce — and she will directly manage the sales and marketing teams across WWD, FN and Beauty Inc., as well as all live media and branded content across Fairchild Media. She will join Fairchild in September, reporting to Tom Finn, PMC’s EVP and GM of operations.

“It’s a true honor to join PMC and to lead Fairchild Media during this deeply transformative moment, when coming together to grow the portfolio of audiences and business is essential,” said Smith. “Fairchild’s iconic brands serve a critical role across the communities of the fashion, footwear and beauty industries, where our commitment to relentless innovation — industrywide and through our media platforms — can shine a bright light on the positive future and outcomes we all desire.”

At Fast Company, Smith led and managed a cross-platform team to drive revenue across the entire product suite, including digital, events, video, social, native content, branded content, programmatic and print. She specialized in developing strategies for new opportunities, innovations and first-to-market programs, and her work resulted in exceeded revenue goals and increased profitability for the business. Prior to Fast Company, Smith was head of sales at Condé Nast Traveler and associate publisher for luxury for T Magazine at The New York Times. She’s also worked at Vogue and The Wall Street Journal.

Smith will be based in PMC’s New York office.

“In this fast-changing and challenging market, creating a unified growth strategy at Fairchild will enable us to greater leverage the editorial excellence of the four publications across all platforms, as well as the myriad live events Fairchild organizes throughout the year,” said Fairchild Media Editorial Director Jim Fallon. “I look forward to working with Amanda as we continue to grow Fairchild’s outstanding brands.”

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