The Information wants to grow its ad business

The Information just hired its first vice president of sponsorships and ad sales, part of a plan to double its business team to more than 14 over the next 12 month, reports Lucia Moses of Business Insider.

Moses reports, “The company also hired Erica Grijalva as vice president of enterprise sales to sell group subscriptions to companies. It’s tapping ex-BuzzFeed exec Ashley McCollum as a consultant on new business opportunities and looking for a vice president of marketing and head of subscription business.

“McCollum was one of BuzzFeed’s longest serving employees and rose to general manager of its hugely popular food brand, Tasty, which spawned a line of cookbooks and cookware sold at Walmart. That experience might seem at odds with The Information’s tight focus on business journalism, but Lessin said she sees McCollum helping the publication look for new ways to get involved with companies and develop new franchises.

“‘Having built Tasty, she has a great understanding of how publications can work with brands,’ Lessin said.

“While other digital-media companies have raised venture capital and, in some cases, have struggled to meet investors’ lofty growth expectations, Lessin bootstrapped The Information and said it broke even 2 1/2 years after it started in 2013.”

Read more here.