Dan Hickey has been named chief executive officer of Waukesha-based Kalmbach Publishing Co.
Hickey, 57, succeeds Charles Croft, who left the company in fall 2016, worked briefly as vice president of finance and administration at the Milwaukee Rescue Mission, and is now chief executive officer of Indiana’s DRG, parent company of Annie’s publishing. Hickey is just the sixth CEO of Kalmbach since the company was founded in 1934.
Hickey has more than 25 years of media leadership experience, most recently as media consultant-National Geographic Partners at 21st Century Fox. He previously was senior vice president, Motiv8 Agency at Tribune Publishing Co., general manager/managing director at Telegraph Media Group, senior vice president of digital products and marketing at Alliance Health Networks, and spent 12 years leading the digital businesses at Meredith Corp.
“Dan is an exceptional media executive who brings a unique blend of digital, editorial, and business expertise,” said Gerald Boettcher, chairman of the board of directors and lead director of the board’s search committee. “He has a long track record of building strong media brands and digital innovation. He has led several media business transformations and brings a clear vision about how we will successfully evolve over the next five to 10 years. We’re excited to have him as our CEO.”
“I am thrilled to be selected CEO by the board,” Hickey said. “Kalmbach has a long and compelling history of putting the customer front and center and has built a valuable multichannel platform for serving their enthusiast communities. We will continue to invest in our community platform and look to build and acquire new passion communities to serve.”
Kalmbach publishes 12 special-interest magazines, including Astronomy, Bead & Button, Discover, Model Railroader and Trains. It also produces related books and websites and hosts events for readers.
