Janet L. Robinson was the president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company from December of 2004 to January 2012. She was also a member of the board of directors.
As chief executive officer, Robinson had the responsibility for overseeing all of the company’s print, digital, broadcast, and newsprint manufacturing business units and for charting the future direction of the company. In this role, she implemented an accelerated strategic plan that focused on leveraging the company’s core asset, quality journalism, across new and emerging forms of media. This included developing new products in print and online, implementing operational efficiency, and rebalancing the company’s portfolio of businesses.
Robinson served as chief operating officer and executive vice president of The New York Times Company beginning in February of 2004. Previously, she served as senior vice president of newspaper operations. In this role, she led the operations of all the newspaper properties, which included the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the International Herald Tribune, and the regional newspaper holdings. Robinson also held the position of president and general manager of the New York Times from 1996 through 2004.
During her tenure, she directed the transformation of the advertising and subscription revenue growth in print and digital at all properties and the improvement of profit margins through operational efficiencies and pricing initiatives. She oversaw the completion of the Times' conversion to color and section expansion, the creation and implementation of the national expansion, and the entry of the New York Times into emerging digital media.
She was named several times to Forbes magazine's list of “100 Most Powerful Women,” Fortune magazine's list of “50 Top Women in Business,” and the Financial Times' list of “50 Top Women in Business.”
Robinson currently serves as chair of Carnegie Corporation of New York, succeeding Thomas H. Kean, former governor of New Jersey. She is a member of the board of directors of Ocean Point Financial Partners, Steward Partners Global Advisory LLC, the Preservation Society of Newport County, and the Rhode Island Foundation. She also serves on the International Advisory Board of Fleishman Hillard, a global strategic communications firm.
Robinson graduated cum laude from Salve Regina University and from the executive education program at the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. She is the recipient of a number of honorary degrees.
