New York, NY – Eric Zinczenko, Group Publisher of the Bonnier Outdoor Group, including Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, and SHOT Business magazines, has been named to the Media Industry Newsletter's (min) Sales Executive Hall of Fame. Zinczenko, along with the additional honorees, will be celebrated at the "Breakfast of Champions" on June 11, 2008, at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

According to min, Hall of Fame awards are "bestowed upon an executive who has grown through the sales ranks to the level of President, VP, Director, Publisher, etc; one whose name speaks to his or her excellent reputation in driving revenue and relationships; who has earned the respect of his or her peers and of the advertising community." Previous inductees include Cathie Black, President, Hearst Magazines; and Ed Kelley, President and CEO, American Express Publishing.

"Considering the class of past and present Hall of Fame recipients, this is a tremendous honor for me," says Zinczenko. "I have been entrusted with outstanding brands and blessed with phenomenal staffs during my 16 years in publishing and have given full commitment to their combined success, so receiving an award that recognizes those efforts is especially meaningful. I am humbled by my induction."

In January of 2006, Zinczenko joined Bonnier's Outdoor Group, and he and his staff have overseen tremendous growth from the brands since. In his first year, all three of the group's titles closed the year up in both advertising revenue and pages. In 2007, the group's flagship title, Field & Stream, the country's largest-circulation enthusiast title, closed the year up 7.2% in advertising revenue and 2.3% in advertising pages. Sister publications Outdoor Life, the No. 2 title in the outdoor space, and SHOT Business, a publication for shooting-sports industry insiders, both closed the year up in advertising revenue at 13% and 18% respectively. The brands' online business has also flourished, up 47% in 2006 and 48% in 2007.

With Zinczenko at the helm, the Outdoor Group has also seen a dramatic shift in events business, which was developed into a profit center, closing 2007 up 213% in revenue. Zinczenko's team is also credited with launching a multitude of fully integrated marketing programs, attractive to the nation's leading advertisers for their ability to reach consumers on multiple platforms. In the last two years the Outdoor Group has added to its already impressive stable of events by launching the Outdoor Life 25, Outdoor Life Grand Slam Adventures, Field & Stream's Generation Wild and Outdoor Life's Calling for Conservation, among others. In September of 2007, Field & Stream's Heroes of Conservation, supported by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. with a multiyear, six-figure deal, was recognized by min as a Platinum Award winner for the best integrated marketing program in publishing.

"Throughout my career I've had ambitious and experienced coworkers to help me reach the goals we've set for our companies," says Zinczenko. "That's clearly the case here at the Bonnier Outdoor Group, where I'm blessed to work with a collection of colleagues who are at the top of their craft. Receiving this acknowledgement and entering the Hall of Fame just gives our group the confidence to take risks and do our part in building a stronger and more profitable company."

Zinczenko started his career in publishing in 1992 at Rodale, where he was a sales representative for Scuba Diving. At age 24, Zinczenko was promoted to ad director of Bicycling magazine and then associate publisher a year later. In 1999, after a successful sales position with The New Yorker, Zinczenko joined Outside magazine, where he directed the Eastern sales effort and exceeded his 1999 objective by 227%. After four years of often triple-digit revenue growth, Zinczenko rejoined Rodale as VP/Publisher of Backpacker to help rebuild the 31-year-old title. Under his direction, the title's endemic market share position increased to No. 1. He created and established the brand's largest events franchise, Adventures NYC, posting a 580% increase in event revenues, and he led the group to three consecutive years of revenue growth, resulting in double-digit growth in operating margins.

Additional inductees to min's 2008 Sales Executive Hall of Fame include Steve Giannetti, National Geographic; Mary Morgan, Redbook; Tony Merpl, Crain's Communications; Steve Greenberger, President & CMO, SLG Advertising; and Steve Florio, Condé Nast. The event and honorees will be covered in an upcoming special issue of min.

Bonnier salutes Eric on this great honor!