Cision’s North American CEO Joe Bernardo has stepped down with acceptance of an early retirement package, effective March 1.
Bernardo, Granat |
The PR software provider said North American president/COO Peter Granat will take over Bernardo’s duties under CEO Hans Gieskes.
Bernardo, who joined the company in 1998, has overseen a restructuring and overhaul of Cision’s operations in the region and its transition from printed media directories to digital services in recent years. The company reported 12% growth in the U.S. for the fourth quarter of 2011, although Canadian operations were down 14%.
"For the past 13 years, Joe Bernardo has been key to Cision's success in North America, as the company transformed itself from a news clipping service and publisher of hard-copy media directories to a global software and technology company”, said Gieskes.
Bernardo was previously president and publisher of Futures Magazine after stints in tech and publishing.
Granat is the former president of Cision’s European operations, joining from the 2003 acquisition of MediaMap.