Time Inc. has raided the digital world to land a new publisher for Fortune magazine, naming Eric Danetz to the post on Friday. Mr. Danetz had been chief revenue officer at Defy Media, the web video and branded entertainment company created when Break Media and Alloy Digital merged last fall.

The appointment fills a vacancy created when then Fortune publisher Brendan Ripp moved to Sports Illustrated.

It's a telling hire, given Mr. Danetz's role at Defy, whose brands include humor sites such as Break.com and fashion and lifestyle sites such as Gloss.com. Fortune is planning to introduce a new website on June 1 that will be independent of CNNMoney.com, where its content has lived for years. Around that time, Time Inc., which publishes Fortune, is slated to separate from parent Time Warner, which owns CNN and its website.

Here's what Jed Hartman, group publisher of news and business at Time Inc., which includes Fortune, had to say about Mr. Danetz in a memo to staff this morning:

"Eric comes to us from Defy Media where he has been the Chief Revenue Officer overseeing US sales, marketing and strategy. Prior to Defy, Eric has led sales teams at Newsweek Daily Beast, CBS Interactive and CNET, following roles at IDG, Business Week and Ziff Davis. His well rounded leadership experience in the video, display, mobile and the print space across the tech, finance and consumer categories makes him extremely well suited to drive the Fortune brand to new heights especially with the exciting launch of fortune.com fast approaching. Further rounding out the package, Eric is an enormous car and watch enthusiast. The passion for and knowledge of these vital Fortune categories will add to our capabilities for delivering for these clients."

The appointment of Mr. Danetz comes as Leslie Picard, Time Inc.'s president of branded solutions, departs for CNN.