Industry Moves: Former iVillage Exec Deborah Fine Named CEO Of Direct Brands
Deborah Fine, the former head of NBC Universal’s iVillage, is taking on the CEO role at Direct Brands, the operator of Book of the Month club and DVD purveyor Columbia House, the company announced. In September 2008, Fine was moved out of her post as president of iVillage after two years and was named president, digital strategy for the NBCU’s television group. She left NBCU at the end of December. At Direct Brands, Fine replaces Stuart Goldfarb, who resigned earlier this month, the company said. Direct Brands is owned by Phoenix-based PE firm Najafi Companies, which bought the direct-to-consumer retailer from Bertelsmann in July 2008.
Direct Brands’ properties, like Book of the Month and Columbia House have had a difficult time adjusting to digital. As the WSJ noted, revenue at the book and DVD clubs unit, Doubleday Book Club and The Literary Guild, dropped 10 percent from 2007 to 2008. Direct Brands says its still has over six and a half million members, so there might be something to build on. Fine acknowledged that she has her work cut out for her, as she told the WSJ, “This is a business primed to be reinvented. It’s also safe to say we need to evolve online.”
On December 31, 2011, Debi Fine’s 2+ years at the helm of Direct Brands came to an end. She was brought in to lead the turnaround of the core business and develop new business lines to drive growth into the future. After two years, the core business continued to decline at a rapid rate and no new businesses were successfully launched.
Najafi Companies hired Debi to run Direct Brands based on her past record of growing businesses. However, we now know that her past record was largely based on: mismanagement shrouded deceptive personal PR. Direct Brands learned the hard way. Our hearts are with the families that have been put out of work by selfish pursuits.