Morning Brew Publisher Steps Down to Focus On New Media Venture

Business news publisher Morning Brew—which operates a portfolio of newsletters catering to professionals in industries ranging from finance to healthcare—announced two key changes to its executive leadership team Monday, according to an internal memo seen by Adweek. Publisher Jacob Donnelly, who has served in the role since 2020, will leave the company at the end of the year to focus on his independent media venture, A Media Operator, according to the memo. Donnelly launched AMO—a newsletter with free and paid tiers that analyzes the media business—in August 2019. It reached an audience of 4,400 free subscribers in January and in October, AMO hosted its first event, according to the publisher. “I could not be happier nor more supportive of Jacob pursuing his entrepreneurial journey,” Morning Brew cofounder and CEO Austin Rief wrote in the memo. “Jacob: We are all going to root for you next year, and we hope you continue to build a media powerhouse.” AI Is Booming in RFPs. Here’s How Publishers Are Winning Business The company also named Robert Dippell as its new full-time chief operating officer, according to the memo. Dippell has been interim COO since September, when his predecessor, Matthew Resnick, parted ways with Morning Brew before joining The Information. Chief revenue officer Kenneth Shapiro also left the company in September. As COO, Dippell will oversee the finance, operations, professional editorial, product, events and audience development and growth teams. He will work alongside chief commercial officer Sara Badler, whom Morning Brew hired last week to head its advertising efforts. Badler joined Morning Brew from Dotdash Meredith. “Robert has been transformational for Morning Brew in a short amount of time, and I couldn’t be more excited for him to officially join and continue the great work he’s been doing,” Rief wrote. The executive shuffle marks a critical juncture for Morning Brew. In the past three months, it has parted ways with its CRO, COO and publisher, replaced its COO and hired a CCO. The company, which launched in 2015, was an early adopter of the newsletter-based media model. Since being acquired by Axel Springer in 2020 at a $75 million valuation, Morning Brew has grown rapidly, expanding from its flagship newsletter to a stable of 10 email products, a host of podcasts and an events business. This year, the seven brands that make up its professional business are poised to generate $20 million in annualized revenue, according to the memo. In 2021, the publisher reportedly brought in $46 million in total revenue, and in 2022, it generated $36 million in the first half of the year. The company, like many media operations this year, has been forced to reduce its headcount to manage costs amid a depressed advertising climate. It eliminated 14% of its staff in November 2022 and laid off 40 employees in March, according to Axios. Correction: The article has been updated to reflect that the $20 million in revenue comes from one division of the Morning Brew business. It does not reflect total revenue.

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Morning Brew Publisher Steps Down to Focus On New Media Venture

The company elevated interim COO Robert Dippell to the role full-time

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg