Who

Known as "Mad Dog" for his pursuit of ad dollars as Condé Nast's advertising sales chief—not to mention his behavior outside the office—Beckman is president of the Condé Nast Media Group and the company's chief marketing officer.

Backstory

A former rock promoter and semi-pro soccer player in his native Manchester, Beckman turned to publishing after his soccer career fizzled, eventually moving to the U.S. to serve as publisher of Condé Nast Traveler. He moved on to the top publishing job at GQ, and in 1998 was named publisher of Vogue following the departure of Ron Galotti (otherwise known as Mr. Big). In 2002, Beckman was bumped up to corporate (Tom Florio took over at Vogue) and two years later he was named president of the Condé Nast Media Group.

These days he's charged with managing sales and marketing at the $7 billion-a-year magazine conglomerate, and he works with the publishing staff at its portfolio of 28 magazines to wrangle ads and generate revenue. In other words, while the editors of all those glossies spend money on expensive photo shoots and $37 Nicoise salads at Michael's, it's up to Beckman to figure out how to pay for it all. He's also responsible for other advertiser-driven campaigns at the company like Fashion Rocks, the concert and TV special that also produces a custom magazine sent to all Condé Nast subscribers.

Scandal

In 1999, when he was the publisher of Vogue, Beckman was accused of breaking the cheekbone or nose (it was never entirely clear) of one of his employees, Carol Matthews. Allegedly, Beckman wanted to see Matthews "make out" with another one of his employees, Vogue's international fashion director Emily Jahncke Davis, so he did what any sane, rational person would do: He shoved Matthew's face into Davis's, causing a serious enough injury that Matthews had to undergo reconstructive surgery. Not surprisingly, Matthews threatened to sue Condé Nast and Beckman, and Condé Nast settled the case out of court. (Matthews was rumored to have received between $1 million and $5 million; Beckman was required to apologize to the staff and seek counseling.) The Matthews episode wasn't the first time Beckman had been called out for bad behavior—nor was it the last. But because he's responsible for bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars, Condé Nast wasn't about to drop him. Still, the incident is widely believed to have torpedoed his shot at Condé Nast's top job, for which he'd been a contender. Chuck Townsend was named CEO instead and Beckman now reports to him.

Personal

Beckman and his wife, Kristen, a marketing consultant, live in Greenwich.