CEO of Penton Media to step down

In a letter to employees July 17, Penton Media CEO John French said he will be leaving his position.

French and the firm's board of directors feel that his leaving “is truly the next step in a significant transformation which is already well under way across the organization,” the letter said. “New leadership from the CEO position will help bring new thoughts and new ideas to Penton.”

Privately owned Penton Media is the publisher of Chief Marketer, Promo, Direct and Multichannel Merchant, as well as 100 other b-to-b magazines across 30 industries.

French will continue to serve as a member of Penton's board of directors and will be actively involved in the search for his replacement. He will remain in his current position until a replacement has been selected.

French was previously CEO of Prism Media prior to its $530 million acquisition of Penton last year.