Eric Hippeau, managing partner of SoftBank Capital and former CEO of Ziff-Davis, will replace current Huffington Post chief executive officer Betsy Morgan as the company’s new CEO.
Hippeau has worked with the Huffington Post since SoftBank Capital led a company financing initiative in 2006. At SoftBank, he helped the company with it’s first 1995 investment in Yahoo! Previously, Hippeau led Ziff-Davis’ online initiatives.
He also founded ZDTV, a cable channel centered around technology and the Internet. Hippeau was the publisher and later the Chairman and CEO of PC magazine.
"As an early investor in HuffPost, I recognized the site’s potential to redefine how news and opinion is disseminated in the digital world — thanks to Arianna and Kenny’s vision," Hippeau said in a statement.
"Having worked closely with him for the last three years, I know firsthand what an invaluable asset he has been in our expansion," said Huffington. "And now, given his impressive background in the industry and his intimate knowlege of HuffPost, Eric is uniquely able to hit the ground running as the company takes its expansion to the next level."
Morgan joined the Huffington Post in October 2007 after working at CBS News. While at the website, she has been credited with helping the site’s audience grow by six-fold and doubling its advertising revenue and staff. She also helped the site to expand its content verticals from five to ten and raise $25 million from Oak Investment Partners last December.
"Betsy has been the perfect leader for The Huffington Post during a critical period in the company’s life and helped build our brand tremendously," Huffington said.
