Hearst to open new corporate office in Beijing, appoints Wenning Xing, recent chief strategy officer of DYTM Group, to role of managing director to head the office

Kendall Sinclair

NEW YORK , October 17, 2011 (press release) – Hearst Corporation today announced it is creating a corporate office in Beijing, and has appointed Wenning Xing to the role of managing director to head the office. Hearst's corporate office will work with all divisions of the company to identify new business opportunities in Greater China.

Xing was most recently chief strategy officer at diversified media and technology company DYTM Group, a subsidiary of the People's Daily, in Beijing.

Hearst has been active in China since 1988 through its equity interest in Trends Media Group and other business interests in the country. Trends publishes a number of magazines including Hearst's Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping and Harper's Bazaar. Hearst is currently in the process of acquiring the interests of Lagardere Active in Shanghai and Beijing, a transaction which is expected to close by the end of 2011 subject to government approval. The company also has long-standing interests in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Commenting on the new office and appointment, Frank A. Bennack, Jr., CEO of Hearst Corporation, said, "China is already an important market for our magazine business and will become even more so with the Lagardere acquisition. We believe that there are numerous opportunities for our other divisions to invest and build businesses in China and that it's a great time to establish a corporate office in the capital of this burgeoning country. We are delighted to have an executive like Wenning, who knows the media industry in China, to run our office. He brings a tremendous amount of diverse experience, energy and commitment to the role, and we have high expectations for our future success in China."

Beginning in 2004, Xing held a number of positions at Bertelsmann AG, including launching a TV business as the chief representative of FremantleMedia China from 2008 to 2010; playing a key role in strategy formulation, investment execution, and business development while serving as executive director of corporate development for Bertelsmann China from 2005 to 2008; and serving as associate director at Bookspan (a Bertelsmann/Time Warner partnership) while working in New York City in 2004. Prior to joining Bertelsmann, Xing was an associate at Barclays Capital in Singapore.

Xing holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and an AB in chemistry from Harvard University.


About Hearst Corporation Hearst Corporation ( www.hearst.com ) is one of the nation's largest diversified media companies. Its major interests include ownership of 15 daily and 38 weekly newspapers, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union; hundreds of magazines around the world, including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, ELLE and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations, which reach a combined 18% of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, History and ESPN; as well as business publishing, including a minority interest in Fitch Ratings; Internet and marketing services businesses, television production, newspaper features distribution and real estate.

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