Hearst Corporation Names Steven R. Swartz as New CEO: After leading the Hearst Corporation for 28 years, Frank A. Bennack, Jr. (pictured right) will step down as CEO, passing the torch to COO Steven R. Swartz (below left), who will officially succeed him June 1. Other than William Randolph Hearst himself, Bennack is the company’s longest-serving chief executive and sixth in the company’s 126-year history.
Bennack will remain active in the affairs of the company, serving as executive vice chairman of the Board of Directors and chairman of the Executive Committee. Swartz has been part of the Hearst Corporation for the past 20 years, first signing on as founding editor of SmartMoney, the company’s venture with Dow Jones which launched in 1991. In 2001 he became senior vice president of Hearst Newspapers and was tapped as president of Hearst Newspapers in 2009. He was appointed chief operating officer in 2011 and assumed his role as Hearst Corporation president last year. Swartz began his career as a reporter with the Wall Street Journal in 1984 after graduating from Harvard.
