Lee Iacocca, the U.S. auto executive and television pitchman whose feel for consumers’ changing tastes helped produce the Ford Mustang and the Chrysler minivan and made him one of the first celebrity CEOs, has died. He was 94. His death was confirmed Tuesday by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in a statement. The cause was complications from Parkinson’s disease, according to the Washington Post, citing his daughter Lia Iacocca Assad. Studied in business schools, emulated by a generation of executives, Iacocca was a star salesman for cars and for himself, spurring periodic talk of running for president. (He never did.) His autobiography was by far the top-selling hardcover nonfiction book of 1984 and 1985, according to the New York Times. For more than three decades, since his appointment by President Ronald Reagan, he led the effort that has raised more than $700 million to restore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. “Lee Iacocca was truly bigger than life and he left an indelible mark on Ford, the auto industry and our country,” Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a statement. “I will always appreciate how encouraging he was to me at the beginning of my career. He was one of a kind and will be dearly missed.” Iacocca arguably ushered in the era of the celebrity auto executive, with others such as Sergio Marchionne, Elon Musk and Carlos Ghosn following in his footsteps. Marchionne died last year, and Ghosn fell from grace in November after his arrest for financial... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'
[ Advertising Age | 2019-07-03 14:58:55 UTC ]
Salesforce.com Inc., which makes America’s dominant sales-tracking software, agreed to buy Tableau Software Inc. in an all-stock deal valued at $15.3 billion that it said will help give customers more ways to analyze data. The takeover will mark Salesforce’s largest deal to date, according to... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-10 16:51:13 UTC ]
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Beleaguered bookseller Barnes & Noble Inc. has a buyer. Elliott Management Corp. agreed to purchase the chain for $6.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued about $476 million, plus the assumption of debt, the company said in a statement Friday. Barnes & Noble shares rose as... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-07 16:16:58 UTC ]
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Amazon.com Inc. is interested in acquiring prepaid wireless phone service Boost Mobile from T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp., Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Amazon is considering buying Boost for an attached wholesale deal that would allow the buyer to use T-Mobile’s... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-31 17:33:29 UTC ]
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Gap Inc. tumbled as much as 16 percent—the most since 2016—after the clothing retailer reported a slump in sales at both its namesake line and Old Navy, threatening the potential appeal for a spinoff of the discount chain. Same-store sales, a key measure of a retailer’s performance, fell 4... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-31 15:50:27 UTC ]
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Walt Disney Co. is following Netflix’s lead in threatening to leave Georgia if a controversial anti-abortion law takes effect. Disney CEO Bob Iger told Reuters on Wednesday that it would be “very difficult” to keep film production in the state if the legislation becomes law next year. A... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-30 14:39:17 UTC ]
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Amazon.com Inc. is developing a voice-activated wearable device that can recognize human emotions. The wrist-worn gadget is described as a health and wellness product in internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s a collaboration between Lab126, the hardware development group behind Amazon’s... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-23 22:06:23 UTC ]
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ESPN President Jimmy Pitaro says the sports network is “all hands on deck” to attract more women and younger viewers, a crusade that includes a new streaming service launched last year. The Walt Disney Co.-owned cable giant introduced its ESPN+ online service a year ago, and it has drawn over 2... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-23 22:01:09 UTC ]
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Twitter co-founder Ev Williams said Wednesday that the social network might have been quicker to recognize and address the potential for abuse and harassment on its platform if the company’s leadership had been more diverse. When Twitter went public in 2013, it came under fire for having only... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-23 19:28:23 UTC ]
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Rihanna revealed her first Fenty collection in Paris on Wednesday evening. She arrived wearing a blazer as a dress—the white canvas number had exaggerated shoulders and was cinched in at the middle with a built-in corset—paired with strappy going-out heels in gold leather, all from her new... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-23 16:56:09 UTC ]
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Every 36 hours on average, American local news outlets deliver a new report on violence at a McDonald’s. A group of employees in Chicago say workers bear the brunt of such incidents—enough to constitute a pattern of regular on-the-job violence they want the company to address across the U.S. In... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-22 14:33:16 UTC ]
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McDonald’s Corp., in the face of criticism for its handling of harassment complaints, said it’s training workers to deal with the issue and is starting a hotline for victims. In a letter responding to an inquiry from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, Chief Executive Officer Steve Easterbrook said... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-05-21 15:09:47 UTC ]
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Mark Harril Saunders, director of the University of Virginia Press since 2013, died suddenly of a heart attack at his home over the weekend. He was 52. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2019-05-21 04:00:00 UTC ]
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ESPN The Magazine is now the latest publication to abandon print. Regular editions of the monthly will cease after the September release of “The Body Issue” and the publication will go online-only, Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN said in a statement. “Consumer habits are evolving rapidly, and this... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-04-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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American Media Inc. is selling the National Enquirer to Hudson News Deputy Chairman James Cohen, according to The Washington Post, letting the embattled publisher jettison the tabloid after being accused of trying to blackmail the world’s richest man. Cohen will pay $100 million for the... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Netflix is planning its first magazine, but you won’t find it on a newsstand. The world’s largest online TV network plans to publish a journal—with the working title Wide—to promote its programs and stars ahead of this year’s Emmys, the biggest awards gala in TV. The 100-plus page inaugural... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The National Enquirer, the tabloid that billionaire Jeff Bezos accused of extortion earlier this year, is on the block to be sold by parent company American Media Inc. American Media’s board conducted a review of its tabloid business, including the Globe and National Examiner brands, and... Continue reading at Advertising Age
[ Advertising Age | 2019-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bronx-born and London-based literary agent, whose clients included a who's-who of bold-faced names from Eric Clapton to David Cameron, was known for bringing a touch of Hollywood flare to the business of author representation. He died of a heart attack on Wednesday night. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-06-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“The Biggest Loser” trainer and fitness guru Bob Harper is recovering from a serious heart attack he suffered about two weeks ago. Harper was unconscious for two days after he was stricken while working out at a gym in New York City, he told TMZ. A doctor who was working out at the same time did... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-02-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Rogers Coleridge and White literary agent David Miller is in intensive care following a heart attack, RCW's Gill Coleridge has confirmed. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paul Khauli, managing director of Levant Group distributors, has died. Khauli passed away in Beirut on Friday 16th January, following a heart attack, aged 67. His funeral was held in Beirut last week (19th). Bill Kennedy of Avicenna Partnership, which offers sales and marketing... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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