You Have My Word

After MCG Capital’s purchase of Kagan World Media from Primedia [PRM], MCG’s CEO Bryan Mitchell told us it would be business as usual at Kagan. Not quite. COO/sr analyst Larry Gerbrandt already had been removed abruptly from both positions and from the company, after 20 yrs. Mitchell told us he would be overseeing Kagan, but it was company policy not to discuss who runs specific operations. He said, "Larry is functioning." True, after he was let go Gerbrandt still repped the company at CTAM Digital last week- and added, "We’re working with Larry to find the right role." Gerbrandt may yet surface as a consultant for the subsidiary but is negotiating severance terms. Kagan remains based in Carmel. Its new name is Kagan Research, LLC. — Speaking of Mitchell, 1 reason his name may sound familiar is the spate of publicity he and MCG received ’02 when he was asked by the board to step down as chmn. The demotion and financial penalties came after Mitchell was found to have inflated his resume by claiming a degree from Syracuse U, according to SEC documents. He attended Syracuse and Washington College, but never graduated.