Press Releases

FORMER FAMILY CIRCLE EDITOR SUSAN UNGARO SELECTED TO BE NEW PRESIDENT OF JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION

Selection Concludes Three-Month Search by Board Committee

NEW YORK, April 17, 2005 - Susan Ungaro, a leading magazine publishing executive with almost 30 years of publishing, not-for-profit and trade association experience, has been elected to the position of president of the James Beard Foundation, the foundation announced today.

As president, Ms. Ungaro will be chief executive of America's leading culinary institution, providing overall leadership and direction for an organization charged with preserving and celebrating the country's culinary heritage and elevating the appreciation of culinary excellence. The foundation is best known for producing the annual James Beard Awards, which are considered the preeminent awards for achievement in the culinary profession and for authors, journalists and television producers who cover the food industry. Ms. Ungaro also will oversee the day-to-day operations of the landmark James Beard House in New York's Greenwich Village, which is the one-time home of the late author and culinary legend, headquarters to the foundation and location for culinary performances by the country's most accomplished chefs and wine experts approximately 300 nights a year.

"We are delighted to have attracted an executive with the professional stature and experience of Susan Ungaro to lead the James Beard Foundation," said Dorothy Cann Hamilton, the chairman of the foundation's board of trustees and founder of the French Culinary Institute in New York. "She has impeccable credentials as the former leader of one of the largest-circulation publications in the country with enormous consumer favorability and household-brand status. We have every confidence in her ability to extend the mission, programming and relevance of James Beard to new and broader professional and consumer audiences in communities around the country and, in fact, around the world."

The search for the full-time paid position was conducted by a six-member special committee of the board chaired by Jennifer Howse. Other members were Ms. Hamilton, Woodrow Campbell, Jr., senior partner at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton; Barbara Fairchild, editor-in-chief of Bon Appétit, foundation interim director and restaurant-company executive Edna Morris; Master Sommelier Larry Stone of Rubicon Estates; and Merrill Lynch executive Jason Wright.

"Our goal was to open the search process to as many highly regarded professionals in the hospitality, not for profit and related professions as possible," said Ms. Howse. "In the final stages we had a wealth of candidates from which to choose."

Ms. Howse noted that Dan Searby, principal of executive search firm Herbert Mines Associates, supported the committee in the search.

Ms. Ungaro served in various positions at Family Circle from 1976 to 2005 and was the magazine's editor-in-chief since 1994. Family Circle has a paid circulation of 4.2 million and readership of over 20 million. During her tenure at the magazine, she worked with the Food Network to create the 14-part television series, Good Food Fast with Family Circle. She also supervised the creation of Family Circle brand extensions including special interest publications, books and television specials. Numerous new titles included Light & Easy 30-Minute Meals, Holiday Baking, Christmas Style, Family Health, Weight Loss Secrets as well as Joy of Cooking and Mary Higgins Clark Mystery Magazine specials.

Ms. Ungaro has considerable not-for-profit experience as well, having served as president of the American Society of Magazine Editors, chairperson of the American Magazine Conference, board member of HELP USA (Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged), founding board member and chairperson of the Brazelton Foundation and member of the board of the Marrow Foundation. She has received numerous industry and national community service awards, including honors by the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, the New Jersey Press Women's Association, and the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund. She has B.A. and M.A. degrees in communications from William Paterson University in New Jersey.

"I am honored and thrilled to join the foundation in its 20th year," says Ms. Ungaro. "We plan to extend our reach far beyond the tri-state area by conducting more entertaining events and educational conferences around the nation, publishing new books, a new magazine and expanding our presence on the internet. Never has the popularity of American chefs and the places they cook and perform been greater. They and our distinguished board of trustees are a sure recipe for future success."

Founded in 1986, the mission of the James Beard Foundation is to celebrate, preserve, and nurture America's culinary heritage and diversity in order to elevate the appreciation of our culinary excellence. A cookbook author and teacher with an encyclopedic knowledge about food, James Beard, who died in 1985, was a champion of American cuisine. He helped educate and mentor generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. Today, the Beard Foundation continues in the same spirit by administering a number of diverse programs that include educational initiatives, food industry awards, scholarships to culinary schools, publications, a culinary archive and library, and by maintaining the historic James Beard House in New York City's Greenwich Village as a "performance space" for visiting chefs. For more information, please visit www.jamesbeard.org.

• Articles with HMA Quotes

• Material Written by HMA

• Interviews with HMA

• Lists and Rankings

• Press Releases

• Features