Playboy Enterprises Inc on Tuesday named an 11-year veteran of the adult entertainment company and magazine publisher as president, a new position that will oversee all of its businesses.

Alex Vaickus will supervise print, television and digital media operations at the Chicago-based company, as well as its digital media properties, Playboy said in a statement.

He will report to Playboy Chief Executive Scott Flanders, who joined the company earlier this year from Freedom Communications, publisher of U.S. newspapers including the Orange County Register in California.

Playboy also named Scott Stephen as executive vice president of Playboy's print and digital group, putting him in charge of Playboy magazine, special editions of the magazine and other titles. He already oversees Playboy's digital operations.

The new position of president is part of an effort to get the struggling Playboy to grow more efficiently, Flanders said in a statement. Company officials were not immediately available to comment on how this would happen.

Vaickus joined Playboy in 1998 as a vice president of strategic planning. He later became president of Playboy's global licensing business, which helps the company make money from its Bunny Ears logo and other aspects of the adult entertainment magazine's storied history.

Before Playboy, Vaickus was a vice president at ConAgra and held several jobs at Sara Lee Corp.

Playboy shares were up 1.4 percent to $2.92 on the New York Stock Exchange in early trading on Tuesday. (Reporting by Robert MacMillan; Editing by Derek Caney)

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