Arbitron Announces Resignation of Chief Executive Officer Michael Skarzynski
12 January 2010 - 9:33AM
PR Newswire (US)
William T. Kerr to Serve as Chief Executive Officer Investor Call
Scheduled for 12:00 pm (ET) Tuesday January 12, 2010 COLUMBIA, Md.,
Jan. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of
Arbitron, Inc. (NYSE:ARB) announced today that, effective
immediately, Michael P. Skarzynski has resigned as President and
Chief Executive Officer, and as a member of the Company's Board of
Directors. Also effective immediately, William T. Kerr, a member of
the Company's Board of Directors, will become Arbitron's President
and Chief Executive Officer. "Bill's experience as a Chief
Executive Officer and Chairman of a large public media company
coupled with his board memberships make him uniquely qualified to
lead Arbitron. Additionally, Bill's service as a member of
Arbitron's Board of Directors should provide a fast and effective
transition into his new role," said Philip Guarascio, Chairman of
the Board, Arbitron Inc. Mr. Skarzynski and the Company's Board
together determined that he had violated a Company policy in a
matter entirely unrelated to the financial performance of the
Company. Accordingly, Mr. Skarzynski has submitted his resignation
to the Company. Additional Background Information Regarding Mr.
Kerr William T. Kerr, age 68, has been a Director of Arbitron since
May 2007. From July 2006 to the present, Mr. Kerr has been Chairman
of the Board of Directors of Meredith Corporation, a New York Stock
Exchange listed diversified media company that publishes magazines
and special interest publications and also owns and operates local
television stations. Mr. Kerr has been a member of the Meredith
Corporation Board of Directors since 1994. Mr. Kerr was Chairman
and Chief Executive Officer of Meredith Corporation from January
1996 until July 2007. Mr. Kerr was President and Chief Operating
Officer of Meredith Corporation, from 1994 to 1996, President,
Magazine Group and Executive Vice President of Meredith, from 1991
to 1994. Mr. Kerr has been a member of the Boards of Directors of
The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange
listed marketing communications and marketing services company,
since November 2006; Whirlpool Corporation, a New York Stock
Exchange listed appliance manufacturer, since June 2006; The
Principal Financial Group, Inc., a New York Stock Exchange listed
financial services company, since 2001; and a member of the Board
of Penton Media, Inc., a private firm. About Arbitron Arbitron Inc.
(NYSE:ARB) is a media and marketing research firm serving the media
-- radio, television, cable, online radio and out-of-home -- as
well as advertisers and advertising agencies. Arbitron's core
businesses are measuring network and local market radio audiences
across the United States; surveying the retail, media and product
patterns of local market consumers; and providing application
software used for analyzing media audience and marketing
information data. The company has developed the Portable People
Meter, a new technology for media and marketing research. Portable
People MeterTM and PPMTM are marks of Arbitron Inc. Arbitron
Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this release that are not
strictly historical, including the statements regarding
expectations for 2010 and any other statements regarding events or
developments that we believe or anticipate will or may occur in the
future, may be "forward-looking" statements. There are a number of
important factors that could cause actual events to differ
materially from those suggested or indicated by such
forward-looking statements. These factors include, among other
things, the current global economic recession and the upheaval in
the credit markets and financial services industry, competition,
our ability to develop and successfully market new products and
technologies, our ability to successfully commercialize our
Portable People MeterTM service, the growth rates and cyclicality
of markets we serve, our ability to expand our business in new
markets, our ability to successfully identify, consummate and
integrate appropriate acquisitions, the impact of increased costs
of data collection including a trend toward increasing incidence of
cell phone-only households, litigation and other contingent
liabilities including intellectual property matters, our compliance
with applicable laws and regulations and changes in applicable laws
and regulations, our ability to achieve projected efficiencies,
cost reductions, sales growth and earnings, and international
economic, political, legal and business factors. Additional
information regarding the factors that may cause actual results to
differ materially from these forward-looking statements is
available in our SEC filings, including our 2008 Annual Report on
Form 10-K. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the
date of this release and the Company does not assume any obligation
to update any forward-looking statement. DATASOURCE: Arbitron Inc.
CONTACT: Investor Contact: Thom Mocarsky, Vice President, Investor
Relations, +1-410-312-8239, , Media Contact: Deirdre Blackwood,
+1-410-312-8523, , both of Arbitron Inc. Web Site:
http://www.arbitron.com/
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