Des Moines, IA — Toye Cody and Sondra Newkirk have been named Co-Vice Presidents for Brand Licensing at Meredith Corp., replacing Steve Grune, who is leaving the company.  Grune had been VP Brand Licensing since September 2018.

Newkirk and Cody were both previously Co- Senior Directors of Brand Licensing.

“Toye and Sondra are seasoned professionals with deep brand licensing experience and relationships with our partners,” said Tom Witschi, President, Meredith Consumer Products.  “We are thrilled to acknowledge and reward their strong leadership as we continue moving our business forward.”

Cody will continue leading Meredith’s largest brand licensing relationship with Walmart, where it sells hundreds of Better Homes & Gardens-branded home and outdoor products across 4,000 stores and Walmart.com.  She joined Meredith Brand Licensing in 2008 and has been working on the Walmart business since 2011, a period of very strong sales growth and product expansion.  Cody and her team work directly with Walmart on product selection, design, packaging, merchandising and marketing details.  She joined Meredith Corporation in 2004, working in various positions in Meredith Books.

Newkirk will lead all other Brand Licensing business, including approximately 35 partnerships across 11  Meredith brands.  Some of those relationships include Realogy and Better Homes & Gardens, Dillard’s and Southern Living, Bellisio Foods and EatingWell, and Real Simple with Bed, Bath and Beyond.  Newkirk has been with brand licensing since joining Meredith in 2006, most recently serving as Executive Director.  She serves on the board of the Society of Product Licensors Committed to Excellence (SPLICE), is active on several benchmarking teams, and is a frequent speaker at the Las Vegas Licensing Expo.

Meredith Corporation is the second-largest brand licensor in the world, according to License!Global magazine, and earns brand licensing royalties based on more than $25 billion of sales.

ABOUT MEREDITH CORPORATION

Meredith Corporation has been committed to service journalism for 118 years. Today, Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms-including broadcast television, print, digital, mobile and video-to provide consumers with content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners.  Meredith’s National Media Group reaches 180 million unduplicated American consumers every month, including nearly 90 percent of U.S. millennial women. Meredith is a leader in creating content across media platforms and life stages in key consumer interest areas such as entertainment, food, lifestyle, parenting and home. Meredith is the No. 1 magazine operator in the U.S., and owner of the largest premium content digital network for American consumers. Meredith’s leading national brands PEOPLE, Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle, Allrecipes, REAL SIMPLE, SHAPE, Southern Living, FOOD & WINE, Travel + Leisure, Martha Stewart Living and Health. Meredith also features robust brand licensing activities including more than 3,000 SKUs of branded products at 4,000 Walmart stores across the U.S. and at walmart.com. Meredith’s National Media Group also includes leading affinity marketer Synapse, and The Foundry, the Company’s state-of-the-art creative lab and content studio.