DM News has announced that Tad Clarke, the fourth editor in chief of DM News in its 27-year history, has tendered his resignation, effective April 7, in order to take an editorial position with MarketingSherpa, a research firm publishing case studies and benchmark data for the marketing profession. Mickey Alam Khan, now executive editor, has been named as Clarke's successor in the editor in chief role.
After joining DM News as managing editor in July 1997, Clarke rose to executive editor in 1998 and then editor in chief in 1999. Before DM News, he served as assistant managing editor at the Journal News in White Plains, NY, and various positions at Florida Today in Melbourne, FL, both Gannett publications.
“Tad is a consummate professional,” said Adrian Courtenay, CEO of Courtenay Communications. “We could always count on him to put our print and online editions to bed on time and make sure they were well-edited products that we were proud to put our names on. Tad is also very well liked by the staff and the people in the direct, database and Internet marketing community that he dealt with. We certainly wish him well in his new endeavor.
“Mickey Alam Khan is also exceptionally well qualified to be the editor in chief of DM News,” Courtenay continued. “In the past two years, he has created a number of new products and collaborated in the conception and launching of others, including DM News' Outlook, DM News' Deliver and the DM News Essential Guides to Search Marketing, E-Mail Marketing and Lists, Databases and Data Services.”
From 1993 to 1998, Alam Khan served as a foreign correspondent for Advertising Age. In March 1999, he became senior editor of iMarketing News, which merged into DM News in 2002. He was named executive editor of DM News in July 2005.
Asked where he sees marketing going in the future, Alam Khan commented: “The way I see it, all marketing eventually will have to have some addressability or ROI component, even branding. So DM News is perfectly poised to report the news as it happens, identify the trends ahead of time and add value to those marketers who interact with the brand.”
Alam Khan also was asked about his objectives in his new role.
“Our goal is to inform, educate and stimulate lead generation in direct, database and interactive marketing,” he said. “The DM News team's effort is focused on making sure readers have the pertinent news and information to help them with customer acquisition and retention efforts. I will work with Mr. Courtenay and my colleagues and continue Tad's legacy here, Providence willing.”
