Ross Levinsohn is the L.A. Times Media Group’s CEO, which includes the Los Angeles Times and latimes.com. He previously served as the EVP of Strategy and Development for Guggenheim Digital Media, LLC (formerly New York Times Digital). Before joining Guggenheim in 2011, Mr. Levinsohn was the CEO of Fox Interactive Media, a division of News Corp that included MySpace, IGN Entertainment, FoxSports.com, and more. In 2006 he was named “Media Person of the Year” by Advertising Age, and in 2007 was named one of Business Week’s “Top 25 Media Minds.” He started his career at Bain & Company before becoming a corporate strategy consultant with Getty Oil Company.

Sports Illustrated CEO Dave Diles

Ross Levinsohn may be the COO of Time Warner, but he’s no stranger to the media business. The 47-year-old Levinsohn comes to the job with an intense ad sales and marketing background, an MBA from Harvard’s advanced business program, and a vast network of Hollywood connections. And while he doesn’t know anything about soccer or making sitcoms, his resume shows a knack for keeping media companies afloat. In 2011, Levinsohn closed an $8 billion deal to sell Guggenheim Entertainment Partners to private equity investors as senior vice president and general counsel for News Corp. As Sports Illustrated CEO, Levinsohn has been a top executive in a magazine business that has had trouble staying afloat. The most recent revenue decline came during the company’s 2010 annual. But if Levinsohn can succeed where others have failed, his exit will be gratifying.”His time will come,” says one publishing industry veteran who spoke anonymously. “He’s got the credentials, and he’s got the money…He’s going to get whatever he wants.”

“For me to be successful, it started by learning how to read people,” Levinsohn says of his career as an adviser. “For me to be successful in anything I do in life, it’s about understanding people’s motivations and then aligning people’s motivations.”

April 2013, this guy is not fit to run the Los Angeles Times. Nor is he fit to run a lemonade stand. He should be expecting on the margins of a venture capital firm somewhere (his per diem isn’t exactly covered by Guggenheim!).