Business

Clock’s ticking on new top dog for Time Inc.

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes is nearing the home stretch in his search for a successor to lame duck Time Inc. CEO Laura Lang — and with little more than a month to go, no clear front-runner has emerged.

“It’s not like there are 10 people lining up outside his office waiting to get the job,” said one former executive.

One name that bubbled to the surface in recent weeks was Michael Klingensmith, last seen at Time Inc. as an executive vice president who left in 2008.

Klingensmith was a chief financial officer of the old Time Inc. and had line operating experience as the founding publisher of Entertainment Weekly and later as president of Time and Sports Illustrated before his elevation back to EVP.

Klingensmith spent time as an investment banker before returning to his native Minneapolis in 2010 as publisher of the Star Tribune.

“He has the financial chops and the consumer chops, but I don’t know how locked in he is at the Star Tribune,” the source added. “I know he’s very happy there.”

Another source noted, “I’d think they’d have to dynamite him out of Minneapolis.”

Klingensmith did not return calls or e-mails seeking comment.

David Pecker, CEO of American Media Inc., has been in to audition, sources said.

Richard Bressler, a former Time Warner CFO now with Thomas H. Lee & Partners, insisted that there is no truth to reports that he was angling for the job.

The clock is clearly ticking.

While Time Inc. has done some deals, such as the recent one to send content to Sprint smartphones, there is much work left to be done.

Meanwhile, yawning holes are opening up in its executive ranks.

“Everything is at a standstill until they get the new CEO,” said one source. Lang is still in the office, but some are wondering why she is bothering to stick around.

In the quarterly management meeting on May 1, it was Time Inc. Chief Financial Officer Howard Averill who presented the company’s numbers.

That prompted many to speculate that Averill was openly auditioning before an audience that included Time Warner CFO John Martin.

In the last high-level departure, InStyle publisher Connie Anne Phillips has resigned. She had steered the fashion magazine to ad-page growth in each of her five years atop the company’s most profitable monthly title.

Karin Tracy, most recently the publisher of Entertainment Weekly and previously the associate publisher of InStyle, was moved to replace Phillips.

It left some scratching their heads as to just what had gone down.

“It’s a pretty big loss,” said one former Time executive. “She has a great reputation, and there’s a lot of places that would love to have her.”

The Phillips exit means two big revenue generators have left in recent weeks.

Paul Caine, the chief revenue officer and president of ad sales, jumped ship to become CEO of radio syndicator Dial Global.

Caine is believed to have a two year, non-compete agreement.

The insider most favored for the CEO post would seem to be Averill, although he also has his detractors who see him as the man who would squelch plans to spend money on new digital products that some felt the company needed to stay competitive.

David Geithner, the president of the style and entertainment group, which includes chief money-maker People, also has a financial background.

Todd Larson, a former Dow Jones president, is also seen as a potential candidate. Although he has limited time inside the company, some say that may help him.

And, sources say, as the list of outside candidates appears to thin out, the stock of the insiders rises.

Bewkes has said privately he wants to make the announcement before the summer, although there were indicators that the deadline may be moving.

Carter contract

A few more details have emerged on the protracted contract negotiaions between Graydon Carter, his high-priced entertainment lawyer Allan Grubman and Condé Nast over a new contract.

Grubman, said a source, was pushing to get a signing bonus as well as boost in compensation for Carter, trumpeting him as a rock star of editors. Grubman did not return a call.

Graydon, the source noted, who is about to turn 64, was mulling over whether to push for a one-, two- or three-year deal.

It comes against a backdrop of a new deal for Anna Wintour, who added artistic director of all of Condé Nast to her responsibilities.

Carter, with interests in restaurants, movie documentaries and Broadway, is not looking for a wider role at Condé Nast.

His demands come in the wake of the McKinsey study of Condé Nast and a bit more push-back against the editor as celebrity.

A Condé spokeswoman declined to comment on any specifics but said the company stood by the earlier statement from CEO Charles Townsend, in which he said he expected to be working with Carter as editor of Vanity Fair for years to come.