NEW YORK, Jan. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Rodale Inc., the world's leading healthy lifestyle publisher, announced today that Bobby Chowdhury has been named Chief Technology Officer, effective immediately. As the first dedicated CTO at Rodale, Chowdhury will oversee all IT assets and strategy for the company. Chowdhury will report to Anthony Astarita, GM/SVP Digital & New Brand Development. He will divide his time between the company's Emmaus, Pennsylvania, headquarters and its New York offices.

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As Rodale continues to broaden its digital footprint, Chowdhury will take a collaborative approach to driving the technology infrastructure for the company. His oversight will include expansion of Rodale's Web and software development teams to maximize efficient resource management and allocation. In this capacity, Chowdhury will be able to facilitate greater continuity between brands and corporate departments, while also protecting the company's network security. He will also have a strategic role in the development of the company's recently announced e-Commerce platform, Rodale's, slated to launch this spring.

"As we begin an important year for the company, Bobby's valuable expertise and management background will help us turn our IT infrastructure into a strategic asset," said Astarita. "His entrepreneurial spirit coupled with his deep knowledge of software development and back-end systems management for media companies and VC-backed startups make him a key partner for our business."

Chowdhury joins Rodale after four years at Conde Nast, where he held the position of VP, Engineering, Digital Technology, and was responsible for all software development, quality assurance, systems management, and hosting infrastructure operations. Prior to Conde Nast, Chowdhury spent 15 years at United Media & Scripps Ventures as CTO and two years as the co-CTO at E.W. Scripps "Shop at Home" where he was responsible for building out the company's e-commerce platform.

Chowdhury studied electrical engineering at City College of New York and sound engineering at the Institute of Audio Research. He is a classically trained pianist and an aspiring videographer. He resides in New Jersey with his family.

About Rodale Inc.
Rodale is a global lifestyle company with a mission to inspire and enable people to improve their lives and the world around them. Through a broad portfolio of leading media properties, Rodale reaches more than 70 million people around the world through multiple distribution channels, including magazines, books, online, mobile, e-commerce, direct-to-consumer, and video. Rodale publishes some of the best-known health and wellness lifestyle magazines, including Men's Health, Prevention, Women's Health, Runner's World, Bicycling, Running Times, and Organic Gardening, and is one of the largest independent book publishers in the United States with a collection of bestselling titles including Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite, Eat This, Not That! and Flat Belly Diet. The company is also widely regarded as a digital leader in the areas of health and fitness and has launched three digital properties—Fitbie.com and YouTube channels 3V and Tasted. Rodale continues to expand its reach through an ever-growing list of award-winning mobile applications and partnerships and is a leader in direct-response marketing with more than 27 million active customers in its database. To learn more about Rodale, visit www.rodaleinc.com.

Contact:
Allison Falkenberry
VP, Brand & Corporate Communications
Allison.Falkenberry@Rodale.com
212-573-0524

Susan Turner
Assistant Manager, Digital Communications
Susan.turner@rodale.com
212.573.0272

SOURCE Rodale Inc.