Month: February 2013

Maurizio Costa, CEO and Deputy Chairman of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., informed the Board of Directors, which met with Marina Berlusconi in the chair, that he will resign from his positions with effect from the Board’s approval of the draft financial statements for the period ended on 31 December 2012, scheduled to take place on 20 March this year.

Maurizio Costa has been at the head of the Mondadori Group since 1997. Under his management, the company has strengthened its leading position in the books publishing sector, has embarked on the development of magazines abroad – the Group is now present in more than 20 countries – and has carried out a far-reaching review of its business portfolio, including exiting the printing sector among other aspects.

The Chair then informed the Directors that on the occasion of the Board of Directors scheduled on 20 March, she intends to move that Ernesto Mauri – the General Manager of Mondadori Magazines and Chairman and General Manager of Mondadori France – be co-opted onto the Board and appointed Chief Executive, once the Remuneration and Appointments Committee has completed the work for it is responsible.

“I believe that this is a very particular moment for all those who love Mondadori” stated Marina Berlusconi at the end of the meeting. “The passion and professionalism with which Maurizio Costa has led the company during these sixteen years, in an increasingly complex sector like publishing, his loyalty and honesty, in short, in fact, everything that he has done in the service of a company that is so important for the life of this country, deserve the most sincere gratitude on the part of our publishing house, all its shareholders and on my part personally. But Costa’s decision does not break off his long relationship of collaboration with the Fininvest Group and my family. In fact he will take on the position of Deputy Chairman of Fininvest S.p.A., concluding a process that began last June when he entered the parent company’s Board of Directors.”

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The Board of Directors of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A. also co-opted Danilo Pellegrino, the General Manager of Fininvest, to replace Roberto Briglia, formerly acting as an Executive Director owing to the executive position that he previously held with the company, who resigned with effect from today’s meeting.

The CV of Danilo Pellegrino, who has the status of a Non-Executive Director in compliance with the Italian Stock Exchange Self-Regulation Code, may be consulted in the Governance section of website www.mondadorigroup.com.

As of March 1, 2013 a new function will be included – Literary Director – reporting to Laura Donnini, Managing Director of Edizioni Mondadori. The new position will be assigned to Antonio Riccardi who, in cooperation with the Editorial Directions, will support Laura Donnini in the development of the company’s publishing strategies.

“The changes of the book publishing market deriving from the digital revolution and the new reading habits as well as the increased crossover of genres and literary styles have inspired a new, more strengthened organization better focused on our publishing strategies”, said Laura Donnini.

“We believe that the new structure will enable us not only to increase our ability to acquire new editorial talents, but also to strengthen our publishing and marketing capabilities with a synergic approach to all possible content formats, keeping clear in mind that competition is no longer only for the market share but also for the share of attention of our potential readers”, continued Donnini.

The Editorial department of Edizioni Mondadori, reporting to Laura Donnini, Managing Director, includes: Literary Director – Antonio Riccardi; Fiction Books Department headed by Antonio Franchini; Non-fiction Books Department headed by Francesco Anzelmo; Popular Non-fiction Books Department headed by Gabriella Ungarelli; Children Books Department headed by Fiammetta Giorgi; Paperback Books Department temporarily headed by Antonio Riccardi.

From tomorrow, 20 February, Grazia will also be published in Korea, as a result of a licensing agreement with Seoul Cultural Publishers. The magazine, which will the only fortnightly in the Korean market, will be edited by Seong-hyeon Ahn.

This new launch further reinforces the presence of the “Grazia International Network” in Asia where Grazia has established itself with unprecedented success, beginning in China, before continuing in Thailand, Indonesia and India.

“Korea is a country in which fashion, beauty and celebrities are subjects of great interest. And, in a moment of world economic downturn, ours is one of the few markets that is growing,” declared the editor Seong-hyeon Ahn. “Grazia Korea will be a big success exactly like the other editions of the magazine around the world. I am sure that the characteristics of this historic title will perfectly match the needs of today’s women,” the editor concluded.

The new edition of Grazia, which is an interpreter around the world of Italian style and elegance in fashion and lifestyle, is aimed at a female readership interested in fashion and style, and featuring an innovative formula and upscale offer.

Established in 2005, the “Grazia International Network”, one of the most dynamic in the world, is characterised by the speed of development in the most significant publishing markets: from France to the UK, and from Germany to China and India, with overall monthly sales of over 7 million copies.

The launch of Grazia Korea will be accompanies by a communication plan on the web and social media, as well as TV, print, radio, B2B, PoS and outdoor media.

The Mondadori Group is a media partner of the new edition of Social Media Week that begins today in Milan in conjunction with nine other cities around the world. The event, which will continue until Friday 22 February, is dedicated to the analysis of the role of social media in both the public and private aspects of people’s lives.

Mondadori, a leader in magazine and book publishing and with the most extensive network of bookstores in Italy, has always paid attention to the languages ​​and forms of communication of all of its communities of readers, both print and digital. The Group is present online with dozens of brands active on all of the major platforms and follows with interest the creativity and dynamics of the social landscape.

The social profiles of the Group include more than one million fans on Facebook and 700 thousand followers on Twitter. The company’s profile on Linkedin now has more than 10,000 contacts. Meanwhile the company’s brands are also active on other social networks, including YouTube, Pinterest and Tumblr.

On the occasion of Social Media Week, Mondadori’s digital channels will cover the issues emerging from the presentations, discussions and workshops, drawing up an outline of the new scenarios in media and technology. The Group will also make its own event space InMondadori (inlibreria.inmondadori.it), at its store in Piazza Duomo in Milan, available, making it one of the official locations of Social Media Week and host to some of the daily events in the programme.

Some of the most anticipated events include:

– on Tuesday 19 February, from 1pm “La città che dà spazio al tempo: conciliazione e work-life balance”, moderated by Annalisa Monfreda, editor of Donna Moderna;

– on Tuesday 19 February, from 3pm, “Facciamoci avanti. Le donne, il lavoro e la voglia di riuscire” (Putting ourselves forward. Women, work and the will to succeed), with Laura Donnini, general manager of Edizioni Mondadori. A round table discussion, organised in association with Valore D, and inspired by the book by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, Facciamoci avanti (Lean In), which will be published in Italy on 12 March.

– on Wednesday 20 February, from 3pm, a panel discussion and analysis of the links between social media and the law, starting from the recent shutdown of the site Avaxhome.ws;

– on Wednesday 20 February, from 7pm, “Communicating Fashion on Tumblr”, a discussion led by Tamu McPherson, Style Director of Grazia.it;

– on Friday 22 February at 3pm, “Twitter: a guide to digital chat”, with Stefano Jugo, head of editorial marketing at Giulio Einaudi Editore.

Social Media Week will be followed by R101, which will give a voice to many of the most important personalities of the Italian net during the station’s most popular programmes.

You can follow Social Media Week on Twitter using the hashtag #SMWMilan

An up-to-date calendar of the events of Social Media Week is available at

socialmediaweek.org/milan/schedule/

From tomorrow, Wednesday 13 February, Grazia will be available also in Spain thanks to a licensing agreement with Prisma Publicaciones, a company 100% owned by the Planeta group. The new magazine, edited by Charo Izquierdo, brings to ten the number of weekly editions of Grazia in the world, completing the presence of the Grazia International Network in continental Europe.

With this and the Korean edition, to be launched next week, the number of countries in which the magazine is published rises to 23. Thanks to this partnership, the Spanish magazine market will now include a upscale brand that already represents the elegance and style of Italian fashion around the world. The new edition of Grazia will introduce Spanish readers to the unmistakable mix of celebrities, fashion and lifestyle that has always characterised Mondadori’s fashion magazine.

“Grazia is will enter the panorama of Spanish women’s magazines as a product that has been missing until,” said Charo Izquierdo, editor of the title. “There has not been in our market a title that combines fashion and news, and which responds to the needs of women readers. I’m sure that Grazia Spain will be a new element as it has been with the other editions in the rest of the world,” Izquierdo concluded.

Unique in the international publishing scene for the speed with which it has exported the brand to four continents, Grazia is one of the most popular titles in the fashion and beauty sectors. In addition to Italy, the magazine is successfully published in France, Great Britain, Germany, Holland, Russia, Australia, United Arab Emirates, South Africa, China, Indonesia, Bahrain, India, Thailand, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Poland and soon in Korea.
The launch of Grazia Spain will be supported by a communication plan ranged across TV, print, radio, B2B, online, outdoor point of sale.

With regard to press agency reports and comments on social networks concerning the career of Giulia Ichino, Mondadori underlines that professional qualifications are the only criteria that have ever guided the management of the company’s human resources.

Giulia Ichino, 34, and the mother of one child, has been the head of Italian fiction for Edizioni Mondadori since 2010 and is responsible for all of the series that publish new Italian fiction.

Having first joined Mondadori in 2002 as an editor, Giulia Ichino is now a well respected figure in Italian publishing and has worked with dozens of authors, from Giuseppe Pontiggia to Margaret Mazzantini, Andrea Camilleri, Roberto Saviano, Paolo Giordano, Niccolò Ammaniti, Alessandro Piperno, Carmine Abate, Chiara Gamberale, Daria Bignardi, Mauro Corona, Valerio Massimo Manfredi and many more.

Donnamoderna.com, one of Italy’s leading web sites for women, presented to the Fondazione Istituto Europeo di Oncologia (European Institute of Oncology -FIEO) the proceeds of “Un’azione coi fiocchi”, an online charity initiative in support of the couples who every year have difficulty conceiving a child, in collaboration with Pro-Fert, (Società Italiana Conservazione Fertilità), the Italian Fertility Conservation Association.

The users of Donnamoderna.com, by sharing the initiative with their friends on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, activated an authentic web charity chain triggered by a video-story in support of fertility which in a short time generated 83,000 views YouTube and winning the first place among the most viewed (of the week and month) and popular videos on the web in the “Non-profit & Activism” category.

Thanks to the likes and shares on social networks, Donnamoderna.com donated €5,000 to the Fondazione Istituto Europeo di Oncologia: the proceeds will be used by the FIEO to promote an innovative study led by Dr. Fedro Alessandro Peccatori, Director of the Fertility and Reproductive Oncology Unit at the IEO, into “Cancer and fertility: the importance of prevention.”

Donna Moderna is the preferred magazine for the most lively, curious and modern women, thanks to an editorial formula based on service, variety and completeness as well as journalistic quality. Donnamoderna.com is the Italian leader in sites for women with 4.5 million unique visitors and 55.7 million page views (source Audiweb, November 2012), it also has over 151,000 fans on Facebook and over 156,000 followers on Twitter .

Fondazione IEO
“Better care through research” is the motto of the IEO, established in 1994 on an idea by ​​Prof. Umberto Veronesi, and which is inspired by an innovative model of health and advanced research in the field of oncology, integrating the various activities in the fight against cancer: prevention, diagnosis, health education and training, research and treatment.
In order to conduct research of consistently high quality and reliability you need to ensure that researchers have a real opportunity to work consistently at the highest level, which is why the Institute is supported by the Fondazione IEO, a non-profit fundraising organisation.
For IEO and its Fondazione, the fight against cancer is conducted along three lines: clinical activities concentrated in the three areas of prevention and diagnosis, surgery and medical care; experimental research which has absolute priority; and training, to which the utmost importance has always been given.

Profert
Profert, the Italian Fertility Conservation Association, is a scientific body which brings together gynaecologists, reproductive specialists, oncologists and biologists. It is chaired by Dr. Andrea Borini, chief clinician and scientist of the Tecnobios Procreation centres.
The associations objectives include: the organisation of clinical trails, the establishment of a network of counselling centres for the preservation of fertility, the training of doctors in the field, the drafting of guidelines for specialists, the promotion of information campaigns to build awareness among women and men of childbearing age how to safeguard their ability to have children.

The Mondadori Group is a media partner of the new edition of Social Media Week that, from 18 to 22 February, returns to Milan in conjunction with nine other cities around the world.
The event is dedicated to the analysis of the role of social media in both the public and private aspects of people’s lives.

Mondadori, a leader in magazine and book publishing and with the most extensive network of bookstores in Italy, has always paid attention to the languages and forms of communication of all of its communities of readers, both print and digital. The Group is present online with dozens of brands active on all of the major platforms and follows with interest the creativity and dynamics of the social landscape.
The social profiles of the Group include more than one million fans on Facebook and 700 thousand followers on Twitter. The company’s profile on Linkedin now has more than 9,500 contacts. Meanwhile the company’s brands are also active on other social networks, including YouTube, Pinterest and Tumblr.

On the occasion of Social Media Week, Mondadori’s digital channels will cover the issues emerging from the presentations, discussions and workshops, drawing up an outline of the new scenarios in media and technology.
The Group will also make its own event space InMondadori, at its store in Piazza Duomo in Milan, available, making it one of the official locations of Social Media Week and host to some of the daily events in the programme.

Among the most anticipated events on Tuesday 19 February, from 3pm, a round table discussion “Facciamoci avanti. Le donne, il lavoro e la voglia di riuscire” (Putting ourselves forward. Women, work and the will to succeed), with Laura Donnini, general manager of Edizioni Mondadori. The meeting, organised in collaboration with Valore D, discusses the issues raised by the book by Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, Facciamoci avanti (Lean In), which will be published in Italy on 12 March.

Another woman will be the main guest of the evening dedicated to the use of Tumblr in the fashion world: Tamu McPherson, Style Director of Grazia.it, will lead the discussion at the meeting on Wednesday 20 February at 7.30pm with Valentine Uhovski, Tumblr‘s Fashion Evangelist.

A panel devoted to legal issues in social media will provide an opportunity to discuss the forced closure of the site Avaxhome.ws, obtained by the Mondadori Group in the autumn: on Wednesday 20 February at 3pm legal experts will attempt to clarify the not subtle difference between the free movement of editorial content and crimes committed on the net.

Social Media Week will be followed by R101, which will give a voice to many of the most important personalities of the Italian net during the station’s most popular programmes.

An up-to-date calendar of the events of Social Media Week is available at http://socialmediaweek.org/milan/schedule/

Donnamoderna.tv, the new web TV by women for women, which offers a daily range of news and content designed specifically for women, will be online on February.

In line with the pay-off “see how easy it is,” Donnamoderna.tv will provide videos and clips dedicated to cooking, mothers and children, DIY, fitness, beauty, gossip and the world of work, involving emerging and well-known personalities from television and theatre. With a rich programming, the web TV is also accessible through the playlists of programmes.

For the launch, Donnamoderna.tv will exclusively present episodes of Madame Rouge (www.madamerouge.it), the new character played by Lucianna De Falco who, immersed in a bath full of bibbles and hot peppers, every Thursday offers recipes with a touch of spice and burlesque.

The schedule foresees other rolling programmes and features made ​​exclusively for Donnamoderna.tv. Including:

• Cris! Una donna sull’orlo di tutte le crisi, in which every Tuesday the protagonist, Adalgisa Vavassori, will look at the various aspects of the current crisis as they affect today’s women. A “Crisometro” will measure the level of crisis of users in relation to the subject matter;
• Pierangela: On Wednesdays Pia Engleberth will take an ironic look at the world of women through the behaviour of female animals (the praying mantis, the razorbill, the fawn);
• Prendi Nota!: Five ‘musts’ for women, news and information about beauty, love, health, food and sex, examined every Monday in the witty style of Donnamoderna.com.

Donnamoderna.tv is online with over 5,000 videos, 11 thematic channels, 200 new vdeos a month, in partnership with third-party publishers and authors.