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Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. Announces Three New Hires in the Internet Business Segment

Posted on: Tuesday, 25 July 2006, 09:00 CDT

NEW YORK, July 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. today announced three important new managerial hires in the company's growing Internet business segment. Thomas Mueller has been named Vice President, Creative Director, Christine Cook assumes the role of Vice President, Interactive Advertising Sales and Robert Kernen will become Assistant Vice President and Director of Product Management for the Internet.

These new hires join Jody Jones, who has been Assistant Vice President and Editorial Director since coming to MSLO from AOL in 2005, Vice President and General Manager Michael Gutkowski and President Holly Brown. MSLO is augmenting its Internet team as the company prepares to relaunch its website and expand its digital offerings.

As Creative Director, Mr. Mueller will be responsible for the user experience and design of Martha Stewart digital content and products, including the marthastewart.com website.

"We're delighted to have Thomas on board at what is an exciting time for the Martha Stewart internet team. Thomas is a very accomplished designer who brings a depth of experience in technology that will be vital as we take our website and the user experience to the next level," said Gael Towey, MSLO's Chief Creative Officer.

Mr. Mueller joins MSLO from ArnoldOne New York, where he served as Creative Director, developing and integrating marketing campaigns and customer experiences for such companies as Hershey's, Royal Caribbean, Fidelity Investments, McDonald's, GSK and Pfizer. Prior to that, he was Executive Creative Director for Razorfish, where he created campaigns and integrated online experiences for a broad range of brands. Before joining Razorfish in 1996, he worked with a number of innovative design studios and ad agencies in Los Angeles and Germany.

A native of Germany and a Fulbright Scholar, Mr. Mueller earned his master's of fine arts in communications and media design from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He also completed the Harvard Business School's prestigious Executive Education Program, Business Perspectives for Design Leaders. An award-winning designer, he lectures on design and interactive media at conferences and Internet industry events. His work is included in the Permanent Digital Collection of the San Francisco MoMA.

"I'm very excited about this opportunity. As a designer, my guiding principle has always been to bring together beauty and utility. A design can't just be usable or people won't remember or appreciate it. It has to be an object of beauty, too. That's something this company understands very well," said Mr. Mueller.

As Vice President, Interactive Advertising Sales, Christine Cook will be responsible for spearheading the sales effort in support of MSLO's Internet business segment.

"Christine is a seasoned professional with a proven record in online advertising sales and strong relationships in the advertising community. She also has great experience managing, building and inspiring a sales team, essential skills as advertising is the dominant revenue stream for this segment. We're very happy to have her on board as we ramp up our internet business," said Ms. Brown.

Ms. Cook comes to MSLO from IAC Partner Marketing, where she served as Vice President, Sales, managing an 82-person team and bearing responsibility for national advertising revenue across such IAC sites as CitySearch, Evite.com, Expedia, Match.com and Ticketmaster. She joined IAC from the Financial Times, where she held the position of Director, Consumer Advertising. Previously, Ms. Cook spent five years at The New York Times Digital in various sales executive roles, culminating in her position as Vice President, International and founder of nytimes.com's first international sales office in London. She graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.

"I am very excited to be part of MSLO's Internet team. The company's rich print and broadcast archives, along with original how-to content, create very exciting integrated advertising opportunities, as well as standard reach media. Very few websites can offer this level of relevant integration, and the company's passionate consumer connection is a brand marketer's dream come true," said Ms. Cook.

The new Assistant Vice President and Senior Director, Product, Robert Kernen will be defining and leading the development of new products on the website and on emerging digital media platforms.

"Bob has a very impressive background in rich media and emerging technologies, as well as with our core demographic. He also has deep product development experience delivering great consumer offerings that will help us marry our assets to the unique capabilities of the web," stated Ms. Brown.

Before coming to MSLO, Mr. Kernen was Director, Advanced Television and Emerging Platforms at A&E Television Networks where he oversaw a diverse slate of projects, including broadband, interactive and advanced television products, games and other emerging platforms. Prior to that, he was Director of Broadband for Women.com Networks, where he created the popular parenting web site "Crayola Family Play," and led the company's efforts in developing new programming for broadband Internet distribution. Mr. Kernen began his internet career as Senior Producer of Entertainment and Children's Programming at WebTV Networks in Palo Alto, California.

A graduate of the University of Southern California Film School and a published author, Mr. Kernen spent his pre-Internet years creating radio programming and working in children's television. He won an Emmy award for his work on Shari Lewis' "Lamb Chop's Play Along."

"I'm thrilled to be joining a brand as prestigious as Martha Stewart Living-and one that has such a wealth of terrific media assets. I look forward to helping the company bring those assets to a variety of new digital platforms," said Mr. Kernen.

About Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (MSLO) is a leading provider of original "how-to" information, inspiring and engaging consumers with unique lifestyle content and high-quality products. MSO is organized into four business segments: Publishing, Broadcasting, Merchandising, and Internet. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol MSO.

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.

CONTACT: Media, Elizabeth Estroff, VP, Corporate Communications,+1-212-827-8281, or Investors, Howard Hochhauser, Chief Financial Officer,+1-212-827-8530, both of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc.

Web site: http://www.marthastewart.com/http://www.marthastewart.com/ir

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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