Justin Dearborn is the current chief executive officer of the Chicago Tribune. He has stepped into office after Jack Griffin ended his tenure as the CEO of the company. Dearborn is also the chief executive officer of Merge Healthcare. The company was controlled by Ferro, and IBM later purchased it. During a recent news release, Justin Dearborn talked about ensuring that the company’s content is gaining the highest value.
Merrick Media once purchased 16.6% of the Tribune Publishing thus making Ferro the largest shareholder within the corporation. The company also has a majority stake at the Chicago Sun-Times. Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune are also owned by the Tribune Publishing.
Apparently, Justin Dearborn does not have any media experience. Nevertheless, he is ready to tackle the various challenges that are present at the publishing company. Merrick Ventures acquired a part of Merge in June 2008. At that time, the company had been involved in a scandal that involved $20 million. Dearborn was then appointed as the chief executive officer of the company in July 2008.
The company was under the leadership of Justin Dearborn and Ferro. Although the company was not able to recuperate financially, Merge was acquired by IBM after they came up with an artificial intelligence program that was able to perform an analysis on medical diagnostic records. The stake that Merrick Ventures had at Merge was priced at $190 million. After acquiring a stake at the Tribune Publishing, Ferro was determined to make sure that he has brought about some progress in his new investment. As a result, he made some necessary changes in the company’s executive structure. Justin Dearborn became the chief executive officer whereas Malcolm CasSelle was appointed as the president of new ventures.
The details of the transaction revealed that Ferro could not acquire more than 25 percent of the shares within the company. Additionally, they could not sell their shares at the Tribune Publishing for 3 years. Jack Griffin was thanked by the board for his input during his tenure at the company. They also wished him all the best in his future endeavors. Ferro did not issue any comments after the press release. Initially, Griffin was a consultant within the company. Before joining Tribune Publishing, he was serving at the Parade Magazine, a company based in Iowa. In 2010, Jack Griffin was appointed as the chief executive officer of the Time Inc. His tenure at the company did not last for more than six months.
While at the Tribune Publishing, the tenure of Jack Griffin involved taking part in some strategic acquisitions. He also made sure that he had enforced some cost-cutting measures. The company’s share price also dwindled during the tenure of Jack Griffin. Recently, Ferro also said that he is planning to invest in artificial intelligence and big data. Justin Dearborn will ensure that the Tribune Publishing can grow further by leveraging technology. He has also worked with Ferro in the past. Together, they were able to form a company known as Click Commerce.
