Business Insider CEO Christian Baesler sent out the following to the staff on Thursday:
Hi everyone,
Today, we’re making changes to our Product & Technology team.
We’re restructuring and reducing the size of the P&T organization. Everyone who is impacted has already been notified. That means we’re saying goodbye to a number of colleagues today. I’m grateful for what they’ve contributed to BI, and I know this is a hard day for the people leaving and for the teammates and friends who have worked alongside them.
We’re making these changes as we focus on what matters most for BI’s next chapter. As the traffic-driven part of our business has declined, we need to make sure the size and shape of our P&T organization reflects the business we’re building for the future.
Over the past few years, we’ve invested in P2, our work to develop new products and new revenue opportunities beyond our core product. We’ve learned a lot from that work, but as we look ahead, we’ve decided to focus our resources more squarely on strengthening and growing the core BI experience.
We’re also changing how we lead the organization. Going forward, Product and Technology will operate as one team under a Chief Technology and Product Officer.
On September 14, Aleksey Baksheyev will join BI in that role. Aleksey has spent his career building and leading technology and product organizations, and I’m looking forward to having him here. P&T will hear directly from Aleksey tomorrow, and he’ll have much more to share as he starts next week.
As part of this transition, Harry Hope and Jeff Rabb will be leaving BI. I’m grateful to both of them for their leadership and everything they’ve contributed during their time here. Harry has been part of the fabric of BI for nearly a decade, helping us navigate enormous changes in technology and in our business, and becoming someone colleagues across the company have looked to and trusted. Jeff joined us to rethink how we build products and pursue new opportunities, and brought energy, creativity, and ambition to that work. Both have made a real impact on BI, and I want to thank them for everything they’ve given to the company and their teams.
These are significant changes, and I know there’s a lot to process. We’ll spend time with the P&T team talking about what this means and where we’re going from here, and also have a company-wide all-hands next Wednesday at 11:30 AM ET.
Most importantly today, I want to thank the colleagues who are leaving BI for everything they’ve contributed to this company.
Christian
