Recent departures of top executives at Business Insider are raising concerns about the health of the company, reports Oliver Darcy of Status.
Darcy writes, “In the wake of Thursday’s news—and after watching Peng acknowledge that the company has been struggling on key fronts—some staffers began speculating that layoffs might once again be on the table. For now, however, I’m told that no layoffs are being discussed. Peng already implemented deep cuts last year, slashing the workforce by 21%, and another round does not appear to be imminent.
“Still, the exits of Milnamow and Reece nonetheless raise significant questions about the company’s trajectory, especially amid the broader quiet bleed of executive talent. Late last year, Business Insider lost its then–head of subscriptions, Katie Friedman. Its vice president of live events, Priscilla Ellington, also quietly exited in November, Status has learned. That’s on top of a steady stream of exits of senior sales leadership over the past several months: vice president of advertising sales Kayleigh Mountain and account director Ryan Riefenhauser both jumped to Apple, while vice president of global partnerships Maria Purcell departed for Reach PLC. It goes without saying that healthy companies rarely lose this many senior leaders so quickly, especially in revenue-critical roles.
“‘The wheels are starting to come off,’ one person close to the company told Status on Thursday.
“To be fair to Peng, she faces an extraordinarily difficult task. She is attempting to transform an organization built for aggregation on the social web into a destination for scoopy, original reporting that can draw both subscription dollars and premium advertising. And while the company believes it has seen some signs of early progress in various areas, even under ideal conditions, replacing engines on a plane while flying would be a daunting task.”
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