Malcolm Netburn has been named chairman/CEO of Communications Data Services Inc., an international data management company that provides customized fulfillment services to publishers and direct marketers.
John P. Loughlin, executive vice president and general manager of Hearst Magazines, a unit of New York-based Hearst Corp., made the announcement.
Mr. Netburn starts in his new role on Feb. 5 and will report to Mr. Loughlin.
Des Moines, IA-based CDS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hearst and employs 3,000 people worldwide. It is an international data management company that provides customized fulfillment services to publishers and direct marketers of all sizes.
CDS manages in excess of 150 million names of active subscribers for more than 400 magazine and product fulfillment clients in the direct-to-consumer and business-to-business markets.
Mr. Netburn joins CDS with more than 25 years of experience in consulting to magazines, newspapers, book, and media companies, particularly in the areas of publishing strategy, business planning, technology and database utilization, and digital media development.
Throughout his career, Mr. Netburn has worked with major media companies including Crain Communications, Hearst, Lebhar-Friedman and Rogers Business Publications.
He has also worked with various industry associations on “future of the industry” studies and programs.
Mr. Netburn was a founding partner of Netburn McGill, New York-based consulting firm in 1986. The company specializes in providing strategy and implementation of solutions to the challenges facing today’s media and publishing companies.
Previously, Mr. Netburn served as president/CEO of Chemical Week Associates and Hart Publications, a Veronis Suhler Stevenson fund company, where he returned the business to profitability while building a new strategic platform.
Prior to that, he was publisher and senior vice president of the Christian Science Monitor , and operations director for the National Wildlife Federation’s publishing unit. He has also had operating responsibility for Scholastic’s information technology group.
A graduate of The George Washington University, Mr. Netburn will establish a residence in Des Moines, where CDS’ corporate offices are located, and will also maintain a presence in New York.
In addition to its headquarters, the company has branch-site locations in: Boone, Harlan, Red Oak, Tipton and Wilton, IA; Bethlehem, PA, and Prescott, AZ. Additionally, CDS maintains an office in New York; owns Tower Publishing Services, Ltd., a British and Australian fulfillment company; and owns INDAS Limited, a Canadian subscription and product fulfillment company located in Markham, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec.
In 2006, on behalf of its clients, CDS prepared and/or processed almost a billion pieces of traditional and electronic mail; and provided customer service to more than 10 million inbound telephone customers and millions of email inquiries on behalf of its client companies.
In addition, CDS Direct Mail Services managed more than 300 million names. CDS Xpress Moves, a publisher-combined change-of-address database, maintains a database of millions of names, featuring monthly hotlines of more than 500,000 household moves.
