Shakers: Expanding ESSENCE
By Ayeko Vinton, Special to AOL BlackVoices
Who is the New Woman in Charge at ESSENCE?
Name: Michelle Ebanks
Company: ESSENCE Communications Partners (ECP)
Company Base: New York City
Age: 42
Tidbit:
Michelle Ebanks has built a successful 20-year career in the publishing industry, working in key positions at some of the most prominent publishing houses and managing several successful magazine titles. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Florida and started on a career fast track that took her to her last position as group publisher at ESSENCE Communications Partners (ECP). Now, with the sale of all of ESSENCE Communications’ assets last week to Time Inc., Ebanks will serve as president for ECP, Time Warner’s latest acquisition. She will be in charge of advertising, marketing services, consumer marketing and production.
Why You Should Care:
Ebanks is about to head one of the most popular and influential publishing houses covering topics important to African Americans. Have you ever read Bon Appetit or browsed Money magazine looking for finacial tips? Or perhaps you have a subscription to Condé Nast Traveller or ESSENCE magazine? In all of these cases, you’ve been on the receiving end of Michelle Ebanks’ work or editorial vision.
She began her publishing career in 1985 at Knapp Communications. After Condé Nast’s acquisition of Knapp Communications in 1993, Ebanks became corporate business manager for Condé Nast’s diverse portfolio of 13 titles (think Vogue, Allure, The New Yorker). In 1996, she moved to Time Inc. and served as general manager of Money mangazine. Two years later, she was named president and CEO of Mutual Funds Magazine. By 2000, Ebanks had established an impressive track record of profitable publications management. According to Edward Lewis, chairman and CEO of ESSENCE Communications Partners, that track record is the very thing that makes Ebanks ideal for ESSENCE’s growth.
Ebanks joined ECP, a private joint-venture between ESSENCE Communications Inc. and AOL Time Warner, in March 2001. Her responsibilities: to expand the publishing company with operational oversight in advertising, marketing services, consumer marketing and production. Already adding to her impressive career, Ebanks led the launch of Suede, ECP’s hot, new magazine for urban fashionistas, in 2004. Suede has also been purchased by Time Inc under the deal.
Jan. 10, 2005