Executive Decision
Esquire|October 2019
Former Hearst CEO Frank Bennack shares lessons learned from 28 years in the C-suite
Adrienne Westenfeld
Executive Decision

When Frank Bennack got his start in journalism as a classified-advertising salesman in 1950, it was a different world. The newspaper was king, and the publishing industry had deep pockets. As an adman in San Antonio, Bennack couldn’t have anticipated the challenges he’d later face as the CEO of Hearst (the parent company of Esquire), where he thrived in an era of big disruption. Under Bennack’s leadership of almost three decades, Hearst increased its revenue 14 times, grew its earnings to more than 30 times their original size, launched three cable networks (A&E, History, and Lifetime), and invested in the ESPN family of networks. To mark the publication of Leave Something on the Table, a memoir of an extraordinary life in business, Bennack sat down with us to share insight on building a purposeful as well as profitable career, whether you’re on the executive floor or just starting out.

This story is from the October 2019 edition of Esquire.

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