Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc., struggling from the fallout from a felony conviction of its namesake founder, has nominated four prominent outsiders to its board, expanding the number of directors to nine.
The multimedia empire said late Thursday that an election will take place at its annual shareholders’ meeting on June 21.
The proposed new board members are: Rick Boyko, managing director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Adcenter and former co-president and chief creative officer of Ogilvy & Mather; Michael Goldstein, former chairman and CEO of Toys “R” Us; Susan Lyne, former president of ABC Entertainment; and Wenda Harris Millard, chief sales officer of Yahoo! Inc.
Stewart, the company’s founding editorial director and majority shareholder, had input on the new directors.
Stewart, who faces sentencing on June 17, stepped down as chief creative officer and resigned from the board in March after she was convicted for lying about why she sold shares of ImClone Systems Inc. stock in 2001. Stewart resigned as chairman and CEO in June 2003 after being indicted.
The company’s current board is comprised of Arthur C. Martinez, former chairman and CEO of Sears, Roebuck and Co; Sharon L. Patrick, president and CEO of Martha Stewart Living; Thomas C. Skein, formerly of counsel to Sadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and former senior vice president and general counsel of Compaq Corp.; Bradley E. Singer, chief financial officer and treasurer of American Tower Corp.; and Jeffrey W. Ubben, a founder and managing partner of VA Partners, L.L.C.
