Alvarez & Marsal appointed New York-based John Hartig managing director in its media group, which is a part of the firm’s corporate performance improvement practice.
Hartig has more than 30 years of media experience, including leading e-commerce and data monetization, new technology implementation, financial restructuring, new business launches, and mergers and acquisitions. He has restructured operations at public, private and private equity-owned media companies.
“It’s no secret that the media industry is going through massive change, and companies continue to struggle to transition from legacy print to digitization. John strengthens our capabilities to help clients better position their assets and maximize value,” Cyndi Joiner, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal and the leader of the corporate performance improvement practice’s east region, said. “John’s genuine passion for the industry’s contributions to society guides his strategic approach to redeploy and reposition media companies’ assets in alignment with market dynamics and consumer preferences.”
Hartig has served in leadership roles at several media companies. As chairman and CEO of Sports Information Group/Daily Racing Form, he led the restructuring, turnaround and buildout of its technology infrastructure. He also introduced a gaming platform that accelerated revenue and EBITDA growth, positioning the company for a sale.
Hartig also served with Hearst, where he led its magazine division’s consumer marketing operation. He helped create Hearst’s first subscription acquisition e-commerce platform, which generated an incremental 28% margin improvement over two years.
Prior to Hearst, Hartig served as president and CEO of The Parenting Group at Time, where he transformed the legacy parenting franchise into a multi-platform digital, television, print and database operation. During his tenure, The Parenting Group’s EBITDA increased by 35%.
“It’s clear the pace of industry disruption has accelerated and will continue to do so. A&M’s leadership, action, results mindset is mission-critical to helping media clients navigate today’s and tomorrow’s challenges,” Hartig said. “A&M’s track record of delivering improved operating performance and financial results is perfectly timed to help our clients thrive in the evolving marketplace.”
