McKinsey partner to oversee Time Inc. transition

Maybe the new name of Time Inc. will be McKinsey Media.

The publisher of People, Time, Sports Illustrated and Fortune has apparently dropped plans to name an official “chief transformation officer” and instead tapped a consultant — a McKinsey partner — who will be overseeing his own staffers devoted to the project.

Jaison Blair, Time Inc.’s head of investor relations, had tossed his hat into the ring to be named CTO, one source said, only to see the company ultimately hand the job instead to McKinsey partner Christian Schmitz.

“[Schmitz] is supported by over 25 other McKinsey employees,” said an insider. Schmitz did not return a call or e-mail.

In his talk with analysts last week, Time CEO Richard Battista confirmed reports that the company is looking to slice up to $400 million in costs over the next 18 months.

“McKinsey is to be paid a percentage of the savings, so they’re taking this very, very seriously,” said the insider.

Meanwhile, first-round potential buyout bids for the Tampa, Fla., customer service center are now being received.

“They’re looking at getting about $300 million, including all the Tampa assets — machinery for printing, mail sorting, check imaging, etc.,” said the source.

Among the companies still said to be in the hunt for the customer service operations are three India-based IT giants: Tata Consultancy, Wipro and HCL Technologies.

“With that mix of companies, there will be a lot of pink slips in Tampa and outsourcing of jobs to India,” said the insider.

Time Inc. declined to comment.