Relieved he didn't have to go through a head-hunter, Time Warner CFO John Martin assembles his minions

By SDH Earlier this week there were some major changes announced at Time Warner. No Jeff Bewkes didn't rip open Time Inc and turn it upside down. The big changes happened in the company's finance department under CFO John Martin. Since taking over for former CFO and brothel patron Wayne Pace, Martin has been slowly and silently pulling his team together to make sure that when the time comes for CEO Jeff Bewkes to really make some bold moves, his team is ready crunch the numbers. Martin has now placed himself on a pedestal with three direct reports. In making the announcement, Mr. Martin said: "These changes will help our finance group work more effectively with our businesses to pursue growth opportunities, maximize our performance and create value for our shareholders. I'm especially pleased that today's appointments come from within our company, reflecting the impressive talent and management depth we have at Time Warner." [Source]

The Bewkes Administration names new money guy

-SDH More changes are already rolling out following the expected announcement of Jeff Bewkes becoming the next CEO of TimeWarner. Now another expected announcement has been made. The company has tapped TimeWarner cable CFO John Martion as the company's new CFO effective January 1st 2008. Jeff Bewkes said in a statement yesterday that he is seriously focused on creating shareholder value. John Martin's appointment couldn't solidify that anymore. Martin is known as a serious numbers cruncher and oversaw the partial spin off of the cable unit. Clearly Bewkes is putting in place his spin off artists. "The whole tone of the company, with the new management, will be more aggressive in general," said Bear Stearns analyst Spencer Wang, who once worked with Martin at ABN Amro. Wang added: "I think he brings the right combination of financial acumen, discipline and people skills to be very effective in the job." Time Warner names new CFO [Reuters]

Team Bewkes already being assembled

The signs are getting stronger by the week that the Bewkes era at Time Warner is nearing. It is widely expected (DUH!) that the Time Warner board will announce Jeff Bewkes as CEO elect in the coming weeks putting to rest the obvious. But Jeff won't sit around and wait for that day to come. He, along with the help of current Time Warner big bear Dick Parsons may have already found Time Warner's next money man to replace the outgoing brothel regular and current Time Warner money man Wayne Pace. It is widely expected that Parsons and Bewkes will tap Time Warner Cable CFO John Martin to be the new Wayne Pace sans the regular brothel visits. Why John Martin? Word is, he knows how to talk that Wall Street talk and make spin offs work. He joined Time Warner Cable in 2005, before Time Warner Inc's 16 percent stake was spun off. Martin's skills in mergers and acquisitions and strategic planning could come in handy if Time Warner Inc decides to sell a bigger portion of the cable company. Time Warner close to naming Martin as CFO [Reuters]