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This Just In

Cygnus Business Media Emerges From Chapter 11; John French New CEO

HIL ANDERSON, SENIOR EDITOR

Fort Atkinson, WI – Cygnus Business Media announced it had emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and had named John French as its new CEO.

French was most recently CEO of Penton Media, Inc., and will take over at Cygnus from Charles Carnaval, an executive with the corporate turnaround firm Zolfo Cooper who has been serving as interim CEO.

The company also announced a new board of directors that includes French; Canon Communications LLC Chairman and CEO Charles McCurdy; and George Hundley, chairman of ProfessionalTravelGuide.com and a former vice president of strategy and development for Cahners Business Information.

Cygnus filed for Chapter 11 August 3 after failing to reach an out-of-court agreement on debt reduction with just one of its 24 lenders.

French stepped down as CEO of Penton in October 2008 but remained on the company’s board of directors. He was credited with overseeing the creation of Penton’s digital business division and being an early advocate of integrated marketing.

Cygnus’ media mix includes 47 trade publications, 38 websites and 34 expositions – including five major farm shows – serving 13 market categories. French said several of Cygnus’ strongholds were expected to see early growth as the U.S. economy recovers. “We have strong footprints in public safety, security, aviation, transportation and construction,” said French. “Growth in these markets will be substantial in the years to come.”

Cygnus went through an aggressive downsizing prior to filing Chapter 11, eliminating a reported 50 jobs while struggling with the overall advertising decline for the entire B-to-B publishing sector.

Reach John French at (800) 308-6397 or john.french@cygnusb2b.com

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