Nicholas Charles
Nicholas Charles was named editor in chief of AOL Black Voices. Reporting to newly named vice president and general manager Janet Rollé, he will spearhead the day-to-day editorial activities across all content areas, including news, sports, lifestyle, entertainment, finance, education and community. Most recently, Charles was founding editor in chief of Toyota & Jungle Media Group’s culture and lifestyle magazine, Forward, responsible for the conceptualization and design of the 60-page title. Prior to that he was a staff writer for the New York Daily News, penning feature articles, cultural commentary and a weekly column on pop culture. He also was a human interest and features writer for People magazine.
Pamela Thomas-Graham
Pamela Thomas-Graham, CNBC chairman, joined Liz Claiborne Inc. as group president, effective Oct. 10. Thomas-Graham will oversee the flagship Liz Claiborne business, as well as its Sigrid Olsen, J.H. Collectibles, Emma James, Intuitions and Tapemeasure brands. Thomas-Graham served as president and CEO of CNBC for four years. In February she was named chairman. Prior to joining the cable network, Thomas-Graham was president and CEO of CNBC.com, which is now MSN Money. She joined CNBC in 1999 from McKinsey & Co., where she was the management-consulting firm’s first Black female partner.
Sheryl Hilliard Tucker
Sheryl Hilliard Tucker, Money magazine’s executive editor, was promoted to editor at large of Time Inc. As executive editor of Money, Tucker has managed some of the title’s most important franchises, including the “Americans and Their Money” survey, the Money Summit and special projects such as the re-launch of Your Company (now Fortune Small Business). This spring, she emerged as one of the key architects of Money magazine’s successful redesign. Tucker’s promotion will enable her to lend her talents to a number of Time Inc. titles. The first beneficiaries will be Southern Progress and Health magazines. Prior to joining Time Inc., Tucker was editor in chief and vice president of Black Enterprise magazine.
Keith Clinkscales
Keith Clinkscales joined ESPN as senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Publishing, a new division. He will oversee all operations of award-winning ESPN The Magazine domestically and internationally, ESPN Books and all new publishing-related business initiatives. Since March, Clinkscales, formerly president and CEO of VIBE Magazine, has been working as a consultant on a variety of projects for ESPN-ABC Sports’ new integrated multimedia sales organization. Clinkscales launched and served as chairman and CEO of Vanguarde Media from 1999 to 2003, publishing Honey, Heart & Soul and Savoy magazines. Under his watch at Vanguarde, the three magazines reached more than 1.2 million in paid circulation, with a total reach of more than 5 million. Clinkscales is treasurer of the Apollo Theater Foundation’s board of trustees, an academic director of the Stanford Professional Publishing Course and a member of PepsiCo’s Multicultural Advisory Board and of the Young Presidents’ Organization.Aylwin Lewis
Aylwin Lewis was named chief executive of Sears Holdings Corp., the No. 3 U.S. retailer, replacing Alan Lacy, after second-quarter results showed continuing sales declines, falling well short of Wall Street’s expectations. Lewis is the former head of Kmart and of Sears’s retail business. As CEO and president of the Hoffman Estates, Ill., company, he will be responsible for the company’s 3,900 stores and the home services, finance, legal, supply chain, information technology and human resources departments. Lacy headed Sears, Roebuck & Co. from 2000 until its acquisition by Kmart in March. He was CEO under Sears Holdings Chairman Edward Lampert for the past six months. He will continue to serve as vice chairman, a director and as a member of the office of the chairman.Rep. Edolphus “Ed” Towns (D.-N.Y.)
Edolphus “Ed” Towns joined MortgageIT Holdings Inc.’s board of directors. Rep. Towns, who represents the 10th Congressional District of New York, will replace Mark C. Pappas, who is voluntarily stepping down from the MortgageIT board. Pappas will continue as executive vice president of MortgageIT Inc., the firm’s residential mortgage banking subsidiary. Since his election to office in 1981, Rep. Towns has served on a variety of congressional committees, including Energy and Commerce, where he currently is a member of the Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, the Health Subcommittee and the Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee.James D. White
James D. White was appointed senior vice president, corporate brands, for Safeway Inc. He will oversee the company’s entire corporate brands organization, including its marketing, manufacturing, finance and outside-sales functions. White previously spent three years as senior vice president for business development, North America, at the Gillette Co. Prior to Gillette, he spent 15 years at Nestlé Purina Petcare, where he helped develop the company’s core capability as a worldwide provider of private-label brands. He currently serves on the board of Keane Inc., an information technology and business process company headquartered in Boston.