FAST COMPANY: What have you learned from collaborating with others?
MORGAN P. GUENTHER: If you don't know how people feel, you're not in touch. I then move on to what I call my CEO dependencies, these are projects that sit on my desk if I don't get them done, someone else in the organization is slowed down. You can't be a bottleneck in your own organization. Finally, I get to my priorities, what matters the most, where can I add the most value that day? And ya know what, most of those things involve employees, feedback, direction, input, recruiting, compensation, and fun: let's play some ping pong.
What have you learned from collaborating with others?
Morgan P. Guenther is President and CEO of Next Issue Media, the digital publishing initiative of Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc.
Joining the venture in June 2010, he brings deep entrepreneurial, management, legal and deal-making experience in the technology, wireless and digital media industries, where he headed and advised innovative companies rooted in Silicon Valley.
At Next Issue Media, he is responsible for executing the venture's mission to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and related technology that will allow consumers to enjoy their favorite media content on portable digital devices. Under Guenther, the venture intends to create incremental business opportunities for the magazine and newspaper publishing world, while delivering value across the entire industry ecosystem - including consumers, advertisers, publishers and distributors.
Before joining Next Issue Media, Guenther served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AirPlay, a wireless entertainment services company. Prior to this position, he was with TiVo Inc., as President from 2001 through 2003, and before that as Vice President and Senior Vice President of Business Development and Revenue Operations.
Prior to his positions with AirPlay and TiVo, Guenther was a partner at Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker LLP, where he founded the firm's corporate and finance practice in San Francisco.
He sits on the boards of Integral Development Corp., a provider of automated liquidity and trading systems, and Tier Technologies, Inc., a provider of electronic payment solutions.
Morgan Guenther earned his B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Colorado and his M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco.
