Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> July 23, 2001
RUSSELL T. LEWIS was named Chief Executive Officer of The New York Times
Company on October 16, 1997. He retains his position as President of the
company, a position he has held since September 1996. As CEO, he has
primary responsibility for overseeing and coordinating all of the
company's operations and business units and for working closely with the
Chairman to chart the future direction of the company. He was elected a
Director of the company in May 1997. Previously, Mr. Lewis served as
President and General Manager of The New York Times newspaper since
February 1993. Before that, he was Executive Vice President and Deputy
General Manager since 1992, and Senior Vice President, production since
August 1988. During that period, he led the restructuring of the
production areas to be managed by nonunion managers and the successful
transition to the Edison, NJ color printing plant. Earlier, Mr. Lewis
served in various positions at The Times including Senior Vice President
of circulation from November 1984 to April 1988, and Vice President of
circulation in January 1983. Mr. Lewis first joined The Times in 1966,
as a copy boy, while attending college. He became a news clerk, then a
news assistant, and won a Publisher's Award for a story he wrote about a
New York City postal strike. In 1977, he returned as a Staff Attorney in
the company's legal department and was involved in litigation on a
number of issues regarding freedom of the press. From 1978 through 1981,
Mr. Lewis served as Secretary of the New York City Bar Association's
Committee on Communications Law. In 1985 he was elected to the Board of
Directors of the New York State Publishers Association and in 1990
served as its President. He also served on the Board of Colgate
University, Hamilton, NY. In 2000, for the second consecutive year, Mr.
Lewis was named one of the top 50 CEOs by Worth magazine. He earned a BA
degree in 1969 from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He
entered Brooklyn Law School in 1970 and continued to work at The Times
as a Legal Clerk. He was awarded a JD degree in 1973 and was a
litigation associate with the New York City law firm of Cahill Gordon &
Reindel. Profile
world over this six or nine month period of time?
Mr. Lewis: What has transpired in our world has transpired at least
