Arbitron Announces Resignation of Chief Executive Officer Michael Skarzynski
January 11 2010 - 7:41PM
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. Arbitron will host a conference call at 12:00 noon
Eastern Time, Tuesday January 12. The Company invites you to listen
to the call by dialing (toll free) 888-562-3356. The conference
call can be accessed from outside of the United States by dialing
973-582-2700. To participate, users will need to use the following
code: 50602911. The call will also be available live on the
Internet at the following sites: http://www.arbitron.com/ and
http://www.streetevents.com/. 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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