US News expands consumer advice team

U.S. News & World Report has hired Kim Heneghan as vice president and general manager of money products and promoted Kim Castro to executive editor of consumer advice.

Heneghan was previously general manager of online at Hanley Wood and will lead the newly-created money products team in the development of new products in personal finance, careers and investing. She will be joined by Jada Graves, careers product manager, and Kirk Shinkle, director of financial services.

Castro, who was previously managing editor for Money and Health at U.S. News, will extend her editorial responsibilities across consumer advice categories, including the recent addition of Real Estate.

“The data, consumer advice and in-depth analysis that U.S. News is known for continues to be valuable online,” said Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News, in a statement. “We see tremendous opportunities for growth in helping our audience make important decisions, from researching the best mutual funds to invest in or health insurance plan to buy to finding the right car for their family.”

Under Castro’s editorial direction, web audiences to U.S. News’ Money and Health articles, blogs and slideshows more than doubled. Castro also helped drive the creation of the Eat + Run blog, Patient Advice columns and several new products, including the popular Best Diets and Best Mutual Funds rankings and the soon-to-be-released U.S. News 529 Finder, which allows consumers to compare, research and select the best tax-advantaged college savings plans.

U.S. News’ expanding suite of tools, products and consumer advice content is designed to help consumers make smarter decisions in life and work. Newly released products and editorial content in Health, Money and Education have contributed significantly to U.S. News’ growth this year. Nearly 25 million visitors come to usnews.com each month, up more than 20 percent since last year.