The acquisition, effective Feb. 1, includes certain assets of BowTie Inc., including trade magazines like Veterinary Practice News and Pet Product News International; consumer magazines such as Reptiles, Horse Illustrated and Urban Farm; websites including VeterinaryPracticeNews.com, AnimalNetwork.com and DogChannel.com; and bestselling books about animals, including “Dog Heroes of September 11th” and “The Original Dog Bible.” “We are thrilled to bring these storied brands under our umbrella,” said Harris, who has been appointed interim CEO of Lumina Media. “Combining the talented, passionate teams that have built such a robust content engine with the technology and expertise of our existing joint ventures creates the perfect platform on which to create an infinite variety of special-interest content for delivery in all formats.” Lumina Media is the latest in a series of professional partnerships between Fry and Harris and their respective companies. Harris is the co-founder and co-owner of National Publisher Services (NPS), the leading provider of publishing management services. Fry is the chairman of NPI Ventures LLC, which owns 50 percent of NPS, and the chief technology officer of Fry Communications, one of the nation’s largest privately held integrated communications companies. “We already offer our clients solutions in four key areas of publishing: retail sales development, audience development, publishing services and digital platforms. Lumina Media allows us to round those out with a fifth area of expertise–content–thus creating a truly comprehensive portfolio of services,” said Harris. Lumina is in discussion with leading brands to form marketing partnerships that will leverage its ability to package targeted content and expand its product and brand offerings. Additionally, Harris announced that Daniel Ambrose, managing partner of Ambro.com and a lifelong publishing executive and consultant, joined the Lumina executive team as chief strategy officer for digital and advertising. “I am thrilled to be joining the team at Lumina," Ambrose said. "In today’s increasingly complex media market, a company that can quickly package and distribute targeted content and innovate multifaceted marketing solutions is essential. I look forward to working with the combined talents and resources of David Fry, Mark Harris and Lumina to create a media company for tomorrow’s content needs.” Harris and Ambrose will be joined on the executive team by former BowTie executives Nicole Fabian, chief financial officer; June Kikuchi, chief content officer; and Dolores Whitlo, vice president of consumer marketing. <HOME>
