Vice Media Group Hires Ramin Arani as New Chief Financial Officer

Fidelity Investments veteran joins Vice following a $400 million acquisition of Refinery29

Vice Media

Veteran finance executive Ramin Arani has been named Vice Media Group’s new chief financial officer, the company announced on Wednesday.

Arani will report directly to Vice CEO Nancy Dubuc, and will lead all financial and accounting functions for company while taking over the responsibility for aligning the company’s global business.

With Vice’s recent acquisition of Refinery29, Arani will also work to bring together the financial operations of both companies while looking to drive future strategic opportunities.

“Ramin has been close to the Vice family for over a decade, both as an early supporter and trusted advisor,” Dubuc said in a statement. “His extensive investment experience in media and technology will help shape our future strategic direction and growth across our global footprint and businesses as the media industry continues to evolve.”

Vice’s acquisition of Refinery29 and now Arani’s appointment have come after a period in which Vice Media has been questioned about its financial stability, culture, operations and overall future. Vice laid off roughly 10% of its staff in February, cuts that came as it was grappling with a culture of sexual misconduct that resulted in multiple departures of some of its top leaders.

Vice had lost production and content deals with HBO that were valued at more than $50 million annually, according to the Wall Street Journal. Since then, however, Showtime has revived the weekly “Vice” docuseries that HBO canceled, and the digital media company landed a second docuseries with Hulu called “Vice Investigates.” In October Vice added three additional original podcasts in its partnership with Spotify.

Arani joins Vice with more than two decades of experience managing robust financial portfolios. He was with Fidelity Investments for 26 years, serving as a portfolio manager at Fidelity Management & Research Company. Most recently, Arani was a fund manager of the Fidelity Puritan Fund.

He is a graduate of Tufts University with a bachelor of arts degree in international relations. Arani has served on several company boards including Legendary Pictures, Rent the Runway, Goop, Rumble Boxing, Sakara Life and others.

Comments