Series VIII. Office of the Vice President of Administration and International Files, 1968-1973, inclusive
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
Charles Bear files include administrative records from him and his assistants Paul Hale, Charles Terranella and Howard Dunn. There are extensive notes from the assistants to Bear. Some of Dunn's materials state he is J. Winston Fowkles's assistant for Time Life International matters.
Records include correspondence, memoranda, and notes primarily about personnel and financial policies and issues. The records are a mix of substantive files regarding international and administrative issues for Time Inc. along with other internal office policies such as payroll change procedures or computer upgrades. The correspondence includes correspondence with heads of companies regarding the newstour, discussions of department staff and overhead expenses, and correspondence with foreign publishers affiliated with Time Inc. The "Miscellaneous" folder includes a copy of Time Inc.'s 1973 Standard & Poor's listing form.
The records include some materials, which may be inherited, from Fowlkes regarding corporate matters and board meetings; and from Manfred Gottfried. Gottfried joined the corporate staff in 1957 with broad assignments from the president including civil defense activities. The records from him encompass mainly administrative areas of accounting and civil defense.
Arrangement Note
Organized into three separate runs of alphabetical subject files based on the original order. The three runs are all from the same staff members, have approximately similar date ranges, and do not duplicate folder titles. Because the archivist does not know the reason for the separation and did not find any archival transfer forms explaining the files, they were not integrated into one run of files.
Biographical Note
Charles Bear joined Time Inc. as part of Time-Life International (TLI) in 1945. In 1949, he transferred to Fortune magazine as the business manager. He held positions as the assistant publisher of Fortune and general manager of Architectural Forum before returning to TLI in 1960 as the deputy managing director, then managing director.
In 1968 TLI dissolved with its functions moving back into Time, Life, and Books. Bear became the vice president of international overseeing all corporate international issues. In 1969 President James Shepley named him to the newly created position of vice president of administration in addition to his existing vice president position. As vice president of administration, Bear also oversaw all divisions not already handled by the existing executive vice presidents including legal, public affairs, personnel, and research and development. Shepley stated Bear was now the pathway for these divisions to communicate with the Office of the President. According to the Department Head Lists, Bear also oversaw Company Services, real estate, and medical. In 1970, the duties of public affairs would shift away from Bear to the new vice president of corporate public affairs. Paul Hale, Charles Terranella and Howard Dunn were assistants to Bear while he was vice president of administration and international.
In 1971 Bear was named secretary of Time Inc., holding this role through 1972. In 1972, Bear was made a group vice president keeping all his current responsibilities plus overseeing Selling-Areas Marking Inc. (SAMI) and Pioneer Press, subsidiaries of Time Inc. By 1974 he also oversaw Printing Developments, Inc. Bear retired from Time Inc. in 1984.
Citations:
Time Inc. Bio Files, MS 3009-RG 2, New-York Historical Society.
Personnel and Organization: Department Head Lists. Time Inc. Reference Files, MS 3009-RG 3, New-York Historical Society.