Creamer is New Arbitron CEO from January

Sean Creamer, currently Arbitron's EVP Chief Operating Officer, is to succeed Bill Kerr as the company's President and Chief Executive from January 1st.

Kerr, 71, has announced his intention to retire from the roles but will continue to serve on the ratings giant's Board of Directors. He has already extended his tenure by 12 months at the board's request. Creamer took the EVP COO role in August 2011 and was appointed to the Board a year later. He is already responsible for the 'core businesses' of ratings, qualitative and software, and for the execution of the Company's global cross-platform, digital and mobile growth strategies.

Creamer joined Arbitron in September 2005 as EVP, Finance and Planning and two months later was named CFO, a role he retained until March 2011 and resumed briefly this summer. In June 2010 he took the role of EVP US Media Services. Before 2005 he worked as SVP and CFO of NASDAQ-listed Laureate Education, Inc. He is a graduate of St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and Georgetown University in Washington D.C.

Kerr has helmed the company through some stormy waters including shareholder lawsuits and the long-running controversy over claims that the firm's PPM (Portable People Meter) audio tracking device undercounted minority radio listeners. He took the post in 2010 when his predecessor Michael Skarzynski resigned after allegedly making a 'misstatement' in his testimony before a US congressional committee hearing - and Kerr quickly began negotiating settlements with claimants, agreeing a way forward for the PPM and restructuring the senior management around him.

One old problem - the business of getting the PPM accredited by the MRC in most markets - remains near the top of the list for the incoming Creamer, but the billion dollar company he inherits has lost the feeling of being 'under siege' that it had a short time ago - and recent financials show impressive growth.

Kerr says of his replacement: 'An important priority throughout my three-year tenure as Arbitron CEO has been to build a strong team of senior executives. In his time as Chief Operating Officer, as head of U.S Media Services and as CFO, Sean has consistently demonstrated he possesses the skills, temperament and vision necessary to lead Arbitron.' Chairman of the Board Philip Guarascio comments: 'The Board of Directors and I are very pleased to welcome Sean as President and CEO. Sean is a seasoned media and marketing executive with years of leadership experience at Arbitron. We would like to thank Bill Kerr on behalf of everyone at Arbitron for his many contributions to the company'.

Web site: www.arbitron.com .