• by Erik Sass  @eriksass1, September 25, 2015

Health and fitness publisher Rodale Inc. has appointed Michael Lafavore to the newly created role of editorial director, reporting to Rodale president Scott Schulman. This is Lafavore’s second stint at the company, after previously serving as editor-in-chief of Men’s Healthfrom 1988-2000.

LaFavore most recently served as editorial director of Maxim. Before that, he held the same role at Meredith Corp, and also served as editor-in-chief of TV Guide magazine and the TV Guide Web site.

In his new role, Lafavore will once again focus on Men’s Health to begin with, working with the magazine’s editor-in-chief Bill Phillips and publisher Ronan Gardiner to reinvigorate the iconic brand and find new growth opportunities.

Lafavore will also provide guidance to Rodale’s other brands.

As EIC of Men’s Health, Lafavore oversaw the magazine’s transformation into a newsstand and subscription juggernaut, with circulation jumping from 100,000 to over 1.5 million. Currently, the magazine has a total circulation of 1.8 million, down slightly from a peak of 1.9 million earlier this decade, according to the Alliance for Audited Media. He also oversaw the launch of the Web site, a line of Men’s Health books, and various international editions.

Separately, Rodale’s newest magazine, Rodale’s Organic Life, recently lost its founding publisher, Ellen Carucci, who is stepping down to take a new job at Manifest Media, according to the New York Post, which first reported the news. Organic Life launched in May as an offshoot of the now-defunct Organic Gardening.

Rodale is also branching out into new areas, including branded entertainment.

In June, the publisher signed a deal with United Talent Agency to create scripted and unscripted programming for a variety of media platforms. Under the terms of the development deal, UTA will help Rodale create original programming around titles and franchises including Prevention, Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Runner’s World, Bicycling and Organic Life.