Nathaniel Lipman, who steered Affinion Group Inc. through significant growth, a Senate inquiry and the acquisition of a Norwalk rival, is stepping down this fall as CEO of the Stamford-based affinity marketing giant.
CFO Todd Siegel will become CEO, with the company naming Rick Fernandes and Steve Upshaw, the latter currently chief operating officer, as co-presidents. Fernandes previously was CEO of Webloyalty Inc., a Norwalk rival acquired last year by Affinion. Lipman will become executive chairman.
“Today”™s announcement is the culmination of a long-term process, initiated by me, to ensure that we could affect a seamless transition,” Lipman said, in a written statement. “After 13 years with this business ”“ 10 as its most senior leader ”“ I have been looking forward to devoting more of my focus and energy toward the success of our growth initiatives.”
Affinion is controlled by Apollo Global Management. In 2010, the company came under fire from Sen. Jay Rockefeller following complaints that Affinion, Webloyalty and Norwalk-based Vertrue Inc. duped consumers into joining varying affinity marketing clubs that carried ongoing credit card charges.
Speaking this past spring to a gathering of the Association for Corporate Growth”™s Connecticut chapter, Fernandes said the Rockefeller probe resulted in an exodus of Webloyalty”™s corporate customers that pushed the company to the brink. In May, Vertrue filed to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
[Editor’s note: This article has been corrected to note that Sen. Jay Rockefeller began his investigation in 2010, and not in 2008 as initially stated.]
