Reeling 'BusinessWeek' Loses Two Top Editors

Two of BusinessWeek's top editorial staffers, Frank Comes and Mary Kuntz, are leaving to join McKinsey & Co. Editor in chief Stephen Adler broke the news to his staff Friday.

Comes and Kuntz were both assistant managing editors with a combined 41 years of tenure at the magazine between them. They're going to work for former Fortune managing editor Rik Kirkland, McKinsey's director of publishing.

The rumor inside is that Comes and Kuntz took buyouts -- unlike the 12 staffers who were laid off as part of a reorganization in December. Year to date, BusinessWeek's ad pages are down 26 percent, according to Mediaweek.

Here's Adler's memo.

From: Adler, Steve
Sent: Friday, March 14, 2008 2:26 PM
Colleagues:

I'm sad to report that both Frank Comes and Mary Kuntz have signed on with McKinsey Quarterly as editors there, joining a team led by Rik Kirkland, who recently became director of publishing at McKinsey & Co.

Frank leaves us after 31 stellar years. He joined BW as a correspondent in the Pittsburgh bureau, working his way through the Minneapolis, Toronto, and Paris offices before landing in New York in 1989 as international-edition editor. He was senior editor/international before becoming assistant managing editor in 1999. Over the years, he has distinguished himself as a consummate team player, a thoughtful shaper of ideas and copy, and a trusted mentor to dozens of staffers.

Mary joined us as marketing editor in 1995, having previously worked at Newsday and Forbes. She later served with distinction as senior editor for corporate coverage and as an assistant managing editor overseeing finance, corporations and personal business. Most recently, she was content chief for corporate, ideas, and workplace coverage in print and online. Her strong story sense and masterful management of complex projects such as the BW50 made everyone else's job all that much easier.

We have all benefited from their deep commitment to BusinessWeek and to the BusinessWeek culture, and we will miss them both. Please join me in wishing them well at McKinsey.

Best regards, Steve