The departure was more about pursuing opportunities outside of the adult industry than it was about changes at the company, Eric Matis, who worked with Lensman and takes over the position, told XBIZ.
“Joe has decided that it is time for a change,” Matis said. “He was not forced out — it is completely amicable. He is going to take some time off, evaluate what direction he wants to go, and then make a move.”
Although Lensman declined an interview request, Matis said his former supervisor — whose last day was Dec. 10 — left with "no intention of coming back to adult.”
In September 2005, Playboy Entertainment Group bought out Lensman’s ICS Inc. for $12 million. The deal included all properties belonging to ICS, among them GFY.com, RealityCash, Webmaster Access trade shows and CinemaPlay Entertainment Group, a Chatsworth, Calif.-based video distribution outlet.
At the time, Lensman stayed on as Adult.com president and Matis was promoted to vice president of marketing.
"Joe Lensman was a powerful driving force behind the development of several of the industry's most notable products,” XBIZ World Managing Editor Stephen Yagielowicz said. “From his early work with the Amateur Pages affiliate program, to the infamous GFY community and the launch of Playboy Webmasters, his vision and drive will be missed."
Although it is not believed to be related to Lensman’s decision, Playboy Enterprises has been making attempts lately to transform itself in the face of slowing business brought on by the nationwide recession and the ongoing global financial crunch.
Playboy CEO Christie Hefner announced plans to step down in January after more than 23 years at the company her father founded. Playboy, which has seen a string of quarterly losses, has faced a tough business environment and recently reduced annual costs by $12 million and shed about 80 positions companywide.
A decline in ad spending led the company to a $5.2 million loss in the third quarter. The company also recently said it would go out of the DVD business, as well as consolidate its West Coast offices.
Hefner will remain on the board until her replacement is found for the Chicago-based company.
Playboy’s revenue in third quarter 2008 was $70.4 million, down from $82.8 million in the same period last year. Even with that reflecting less revenue channels because Playboy sold its television studio assets and outsourced its e-commerce operations, lower than expected Playboy Entertainment Group performance impacted the company’s bottom line, as XBIZ previously reported.
Matis will be consulting across all Playboy online media properties in addition to his duties of running GFY, RealityCash and Playboy Webmasters.