World - Global B2B media giant Reed Elsevier, the parent company of Reed Exhibitions, has axed its chief executive Ian Smith after just eight months in the job.
Smith, who appeared at only one City results presentation during his time at the helm, is being replaced by Erik Engstrom, the head of the company’s scientific publishing business Elsevier. Engstrom was ruled out in the original search for a chief executive last year.
The decision to appoint Smith, formerly chief executive of private hospital operator General Healthcare, to lead one of the world’s best known media companies came under much criticism when first announced, due in no small part to his lack of experience running a media business.
It is understood Reed Elsevier chairman Anthony Habgood believed the company needed a chief executive with operational expertise in the media industry rather than someone seen as more of a dealmaker.
The company, which has struggled in the economic downturn, said its subsidiary Reed Exhibitions is seeing a continuation of the trends from the first half of the year, with overall revenue declines against a record year in 2008.
“The number of both exhibitors and paying delegates and the average space taken by exhibitors have reduced,” the company said in a statement. “Exhibitors are committing later than usual for next year’s first half shows, although it is too early to say how this will translate into eventual show revenues. There has been a net cycling out of biennial exhibitions in 2009 which will correspondingly benefit 2010.”
