Christie Hefner

Christie Ann Hefner (born November 8, 1952) is an American businesswoman and activist. Hefner served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Playboy Enterprises from 1988 to 2009. Hefner is the daughter of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner.

Christie Hefner
Hefner at the Hilton Chicago in October 2007
Born (1952-11-08) November 8, 1952
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
EducationBrandeis University
OccupationPublisher
Known forPlayboy Enterprises
Spouse(s)
William A. Marovitz
(m. 1995; div. 2013)
Parent(s)Hugh Hefner
Mildred Williams

Early life

Hefner was born in Chicago, Illinois.[1] She is the daughter of Mildred (Williams) and Hugh Hefner. Her parents had separated by the time she was five. When her mother remarried, she moved to Wilmette, Illinois. There she graduated from New Trier High School.[1] She attended the National Music Camp at Interlochen during the summers from 1964 to 1969.[2]

She graduated summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a bachelor's degree in English and American literature in 1974. She was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in her junior year.[3]

Career

After college, she free-lanced for the Boston Phoenix for a year, writing movie reviews. Thereafter, she moved back to Chicago and started working at Playboy. After four years, she was promoted to vice president.

In 1982, she became president of Playboy Enterprises, and was made chairman of the board and CEO in 1988. The company acquired adult-oriented businesses such as Spice Network and ClubJenna.[4][5]

In 2008, she released a memo to employees about her efforts to streamline the company's operations, including eliminating its DVD division and laying off staff.[6]

On December 8, 2008, she announced her plans to step down as CEO of Playboy.[7] Hefner said that the election of Barack Obama as the next U.S. president had inspired her to give more time to charitable work, and that the decision to step down was her own. "Just as this country is embracing change in the form of new leadership, I have decided that now is the time to make changes in my own life as well," she said.[8] She stepped down from her position at Playboy on January 30, 2009.[9]

In May 2011, Hefner was named executive chairman of Canyon Ranch Enterprises, a resort company that operates six premier spa destinations and an online website providing health and wellness advice.[10]

As of 2015, Hefner was chairman of the board of Hatchbeauty Brands [11][12] and served on the board of the D.C. based Center for American Progress Action Fund,[13] a progressive public policy think tank. Christie also serves on the advisory boards of the R.D. Offutt company, an international, multi-billion dollar family owned agricultural conglomerate and Edge Beauty, the world's leading direct-to-consumer company in creating, designing, manufacturing and marketing unique, culturally relevant niche fragrance brands.

Philanthropy

Hefner created the Hugh M. Hefner First Amendment Award in honor of her father, and has helped to raise $30 million to build the CORE Center in Chicago, the first outpatient facility in the Midwest for people with AIDS.[14]

Personal life

Hefner married former Illinois state senator William A. Marovitz, a real estate developer and attorney in 1995. They divorced in 2013 and have no children. Marovitz was sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for allegedly using inside information to trade illegally in shares of Playboy. He was warned by Hefner never to attempt any trading. In 2011, he settled out of court for $168,352.[15][16]

She lives in Chicago and has one brother, David, a computer systems analyst. She also has two half-brothers, Cooper and Marston, from her father's marriage to Kimberley Conrad.

References
  1. "Executive profile: Christie Hefner, executive chairman, Canyon Ranch Enterprises". Chicago Tribune. 26 Nov 2012.
  2. "Cristie Hefner, Daughter of the Revolution". Washington Post. 4 Dec 1983.
  3. "Christie Hefner". Forbes. Retrieved 7 March 2013.
  4. Adult.com
  5. Adult Video News Article Archived 2007-10-15 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Playboy Enterprises Does Restructuring; Shutting DVD Division For Online Focus; 80 Positions Will Go Yahoo! Finance October 15, 2008. Accessed October 30, 2008
  7. Spain, William (December 8, 2008). "Christie Hefner to depart Playboy". MarketWatch. Retrieved Dec 8, 2008.
  8. Hefner's daughter Christie walks away from Playboy Enterprises
  9. Luscombe, Belinda (January 24, 2009). "Playboy Shows Signs of Withdrawal". TIME magazine. Retrieved May 18, 2009.
  10. "Ex-Playboy CEO Hefner joins Tucson-based Canyon Ranch". Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  11. http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140926005311/en/Fuel-Keynote-Expo---Whats-Minds-C-Suite#.VFg7iclnBb4
  12. Johnson, Mary (2 July 2015). "With Hugh Hefner's daughter at the helm, Playboy was able to do what most tech companies can't (Video)". bizwomen. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
  13. https://freebeacon.com/politics/playboy-fundraiser-for-russ-feingold/
  14. "goodmagazine.com profile". Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  15. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-08-04/business/ct-biz-0804-marovitz-playboy-20110804_1_playboy-stock-hefner-and-playboy-playboy-enterprises.
  16. Yue, Lorene (August 3, 2011). "Marovitz career spans politics, real estate, restaurants, even baseball". Crain's Chicago Business.

Bibliography

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxJo-t2YVrY https://www.thechicagonetwork.org/herstories/business-strategist-political-activist/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn4eF8QMHTs

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