WSJ. Magazine Publisher Joins Penske Media as Head of Luxury Sales
WSJ. magazine’s publisher is heading to Penske Media Corp. to take on a newly created luxury role.
The company, which publishes Variety, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter and WWD, among other titles, named Luke Bahrenburg head of luxury sales at PMC and executive vice president and chief revenue officer of Robb Report, effective Monday, as part of a larger corporate strategy to bring all of its consumer luxury sales under one leadership vertical.
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Bahrenburg will lead sales, marketing, live media and business operations at Robb Report as well as oversee luxury portfolio sales across PMC’s art media titles, ARTnews and Art in America.
“As we build the team that will lead Robb Report’s next decade, we are thrilled to have Luke bring his astute business skills, his strong relationships and his proven leadership abilities to elevate the brand and company,” said PMC chairman and chief executive officer Jay Penske.
Bahrenburg spent 10 years at Dow Jones, where he was responsible for building and growing WSJ | Barron’s Group luxury and lifestyle business, including launching several new brands such as Mansion Global. Most recently he served as senior vice president of b-to-c media sales and marketing at WSJ | Barron’s Group and publisher of WSJ. Magazine.
“At a time of significant disruption and transformation in the luxury sector, we have an incredible opportunity to accelerate the digital growth of this brand and to provide our luxury partners unparalleled access to its rarified readership,” Bahrenburg said of Robb Report.
Dow Jones doesn’t appear to be hiring Bahrenburg’s direct successor. For now, chief commercial officer Kristin Heitmann has told the team that vice president of consumer Tracey Baldwin, assistant WSJ. publisher Omblyne Pelier and executive director of media sales Louise Guido will all be stepping up to take on enhanced responsibilities with this change. Pelier, in particular, will lead all magazine-related business. Before Bahrenburg became publisher in August, Anthony Cenname was in that role for over a decade. He is now global chief revenue officer at L’Officiel.
In October, WSJ. said that it was reducing its print frequency from 12 issues to eight in 2021 with a renewed focus on digital platforms. It had already skipped an August issue due to advertising and production concerns amid the pandemic.
“What that looks like for us is to really focus on the moments when it’s important for us to communicate in print. Like the Innovators’ issue wouldn’t make any sense if there wasn’t a print component,” editor in chief Kristina O’Neill said of the new print landscape at the time.
For more, see:
WSJ. Magazine Names Luke Bahrenburg Publisher
WSJ. Magazine to Skip August Print Issue Due to the Coronavirus
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