Industry Moves: Primedia Appoints Former YellowPages.com CEO As Its New CEO; Krantz Upped At YP

Primedia (NYSE: PRM), the shell-of-a-company-it-once-was, has appointed a new CEO: the 35-year old Charles Stubbs is the new president and CEO, replacing Robert Metz. Stubbs joins from Yellowpages.com where he spent three years as president and CEO. Prior to Yellowpages.com, Stubbs served as president of BellSouth IntelliVentures, the electronic media division of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing group. Metz, meanwhile, is leaving the company, and no reason was given for his departure; he has been with the company for 33 years.

Primedia is now primarily a publisher and distributor of free consumer guides in the U.S. for the apartment and new home industries, both online and off. Its publications include Apartment Guide, Auto Guide, and New Home Guide. At one time, it was the publisher of a large number of trade magazines, and owned About.com. PE giant KKR still holds a stake in the company. Both Staci and I worked at Primedia during our previous jobs.

David adds: Meanwhile, at YellowPages.com, part of AT&T (NYSE: T), David Krantz, currently AT&T VP for business development, will follow Krantz as CEO, an AT&T rep said. Krantz has been with the company for roughly five years, concentrating on interactive efforts.