Cedric Fisher

Cedric gives a highly motivational speech/talk as well as professional publishing instruction.

Cedric D. Fisher has more than forty years of experience in magazine and book publishing. He has been a
visionary leader and executive at some of the top publishing companies in the country. In the publishing field,
Cedric’s responsibilities have involved developing business models and marketing plans for new launches; concept design and editorial content; establishing circulation, distribution, printing and production, and CRM systems; recruiting and training staff; selling advertising space in print and electronic media; and giving fiscal presentations to potential financial partners. In several of his former employed capacities (corporate America), Cedric reported directly to the CEO and sat on executive boards. Commencing his career at Xerox Corporation in the early 1980s, Cedric is well trained in sales force management, and recruiting and developing high performance publishing operations.

Cedric began his publishing career as advertising manager for his college newsmagazine while a journalism
major with a minor in advertising at San Jose State University. After SJSU, he was recruited by Xerox Corporation to sell printing equipment and services. After several years with Xerox, Cedric moved back into the publishing industry in southern California with Donnelley Information Publishing. Upon meeting and exceeding sales goals at Donnelley, Cedric was hired away by Black Enterprise Magazine in 1990 to serve as BE’s Western Regional Manager and to establish its west coast operations. In two and a half years, he grew western region revenues for BE from $90K annually to $2.1 million.

In 1993, Cedric pursued his dream of entrepreneurship and set up an independent publishing and
advertising sales firm, CDF & Co. Cedric and his staff represented titles that included Minority Business
Entrepreneur, University of Southern California Magazine, American Visions, and BET Weekend magazine. His firm also launched LA’s Common Ground newspaper and INFLUENCE of African Americans magazine.
In 1997 Cedric dissolved his firm to accept a position as Associate Publisher at Peterson’s Magazine Group
(PMG) with offices in New York City and Princeton, New Jersey. Ultimately promoted to Group Publisher at PMG, Cedric was recognized in 1998 by several professional organizations as the first African-American given group publishing P&L responsibility at a non-minority owned publishing company. At PMG, Cedric oversaw operations for six advanced-degree recruitment magazines and one website. Titles included Graduating Engineer, Computer & Engineering Horizons, Minority MBA, Journal of the NTA, Minority Nurse, MS/PhD, and (link hidden). During his tenure the division’s profit margin grew from 23% to 70% in two years. After Peterson’s sold the division, Cedric moved on to Minority Health Communications/Heritage Information Publishers. At MHC, Cedric served as Associate Publisher/National Sales Director and was a member of the executive board. MHC ceased operations in 2002, and Cedric joined Verizon Information Services’ directory advertising division. He left Verizon in 2005 to reestablish his publishing firm, CDF & Co. In 2005-07, Cedric launched New Jersey’s Real Estate Executive magazine; in 2007-08, as a consultant, he served as director of sales & marketing for Philadelphia’s Lifestyle magazine, and in 2010-11, as associate publisher for San Antonio Magazine. Cedric is the former director of sales at San Antonio WOMAN and San Antonio MAN magazines and seven professional websites. Cedric is also a highly effective motivational speaker and Workshop presenter. Cedric is a highly valued nonprofit board leader. He currently sits on 3 San Antonio based nonprofit boards at various leadership positions. He’s an author, and talk show host.
Cedric attended Washington State University and San Jose State University; he graduated from the
University of Phoenix. He is a member of Redland Oaks Community Church, Masters Leadership Program of SA and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He’s a board member for San Antonio’s Youth Literacy (SAYL). Cedric has three children and lives in Texas. Connect with Cedric on (link hidden).

Three cameras always works best. A large monitor is useful. Good lighting and sound.