BusinessWeek Names Top ‘CEOs of Sex’

NEW YORK—Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek magazine delves into the world of porn with an extensive online slideshow of individuals it has named the best CEOs of Sex. The slideshow is a companion piece to its comprehensive story in print on AshleyMadison.com CEO Noel Biderman. To read the story, click here. Totaling 21 CEOs, the list includes leaders from numerous sectors of the business, including video, novelty, retail, online, gentlemen’s clubs, hotel PPV and others. “Despite stigma and cultural assumptions about the industry, some leaders on our list also produce Broadway shows, own sports teams, or donate millions to family planning,” Joel Stonington wrote for BusinessWeek. Among the most high-profile names on the list were Larry Flynt (Hustler), John Stagliano (Evil Angel), Steven Hirsch (Vivid Entertainment), Phil Harvey (Adam & Eve), Joe Francis (Girls Gone Wild), Marc Bell (AdultFriendFinder/Penthouse) and Berth Milton (Private Media Group). To read the magazine’s cover story on AshleyMadison.com’s Biderman, click here. Also included in BusinessWeek’s sex CEO’s were Thomas Lynch (Frederick’s of Hollywood), Scott Flanders (Playboy), Eric Langan (Rick’s Cabaret), Mark Franks (Castle Megastore), Serge Van der Hooft (Beate Uhse), Michael Weiner (New Frontier), Ian Read (Pfizer), James Craigie (Church & Dwight, makers of Trojan condoms), David Gold (Gold Group, owner of Ann Summers retail stores), Susan Colvin (California Exotic Novelties), Troy Lowrie (VCG Holdings), Leslie Wexner (Limited Brands, owner of Victoria’s Secret), Scott Petersen (LodgeNet) and Noel Biderman (Avid Life Media, owner of AshleyMadison.com).