BIOGRAPHY

Stephen M. Lacy is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com), the leading media and marketing company serving American women. He was elected to his current position on February 1, 2010. Lacy joined Meredith in 1998 as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  He was promoted to President of the Meredith Publishing Group in 2000; elected to the Board and named President and Chief Operating Officer in 2004; and elected President and CEO in 2006. 

Meredith is the industry leader in creating content in key consumer interest areas such as home, family, health, wellness and personal development.  Meredith then uses multiple distribution platforms – including print, television, online, mobile and video – to provide consumers with the content they desire and to deliver the messages of its marketing partners.  Meredith leverages its 85-million name database, the largest among U.S. media companies, to enhance these initiatives. Headquartered in Des Moines, Meredith employs more than 3,000 people in 20 offices across the country, including a significant operation in New York City.

Meredith operates three primary business units: (1) a National Media Group that features well-known brands such as Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Family Circle, American Baby, Fitness and More. It delivers magazine and digital content to 75 million unduplicated American women. (2) a Local Media Group that operates 12 television stations and their related Web sites in fast-growing markets such as Atlanta, Phoenix and Portland; (3) Meredith Integrated Marketing, the company’s business-to-business arm. It creates powerful custom marketing solutions for many of the world’s top companies and brands. 

Since joining Meredith in 1998, Lacy has been instrumental in transforming Meredith into the multi-faceted company it is today.  He played a leading role in the company’s largest media acquisitions in its history, including the purchase of Gruner + Jahr USA in 2005.  He oversaw the   launch of the company’s digital business and the aggressive expansion of its brand licensing activities, including a very popular line of Better Homes and Gardens branded home and garden products at Walmart stores nationwide.  He conceived a strategy to greatly expand the capabilities of Meredith Integrated Marketing through the acquisition of cutting-edge companies in areas such as online, mobile, word-of-mouth, social and database marketing. Lacy also introduced a series of employee health and financial wellness programs.

Lacy earned both a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting (1976) and an MBA (1977) from Kansas State University, and is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist.  He began his career in the public accounting field, spending 10 years with Deloitte & Touche. He went on to serve as President of both Commtron Corporation, a publicly traded consumer electronics products company; and Johnson & Higgins/KVI, a privately held employee benefits administrator.

Lacy serves on the Boards of The Advertising Council and The International Federation of the Periodical Press, and is immediate past Chair of the Board of The Direct Marketing Association.  He is a member of Financial Executives International and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Lacy is also very active in the community, serving as chair-elect of United Way of Central Iowa’s 2011 campaign; immediate past Chair of the Greater Des Moines Partnership Board; and on the Board of the Kansas State University Foundation.  Lacy’s past Board assignments include Board Chairman roles with local chapters of the American Red Cross, Junior Achievement, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Easter Seals and Dowling Catholic High School Foundations.