Observer Media announced today the expansion of its editorial team under Editor-in-Chief Meg Marco with two new hires. James Ledbetter, former Editor in Chief of Inc. Magazine and Head of Content at Sequoia Capital will join as Executive Editor, and Oliver Staley, former Quartz editor and Bloomberg reporter joins as Senior Business Editor. Observer has also acquired Ledbetter’s acclaimed paid newsletter FIN, focused on decentralized finance and fintech. FIN will become the core of a series of premium subscription products Observer will debut in 2022 as part of its relaunch.
Observer Editor in Chief Meg Marco said “I’m thrilled to have Jim and Oliver join our talented team. Jim has a gift for convening industry leaders and spotting trends and talent as they emerge. He is one of those editors who elevates everyone who works with him, so I’m excited that he’ll be overseeing our relaunched power lists and rankings, live journalism and events, new formats and guest essays.” Marco added, “Oliver’s skill and commitment to thoughtful and ambitious business reporting will transform our coverage of business and power. I have not found an industry he does not know well or cannot think of a fresh way to approach. I am excited for how our journalism will grow in ambition with Jim and Oliver on board.”
Observer Media CEO Michael Rose said, “After a record year of growth across all of our brands and platforms, I’m incredibly excited to welcome Jim and Oliver to the Observer team as we continue to invest in covering the powerful forces that shape our world in the unique Observer style.” Rose added “The addition of Jim and Oliver, the recent hiring of our first Chief Revenue Officer, Jack Fordi, and VP of Marketing, Staisey Divorski, and our investments in new products across Observer Media’s entire portfolio of brands, shows our commitment to providing industry leaders and disruptors with the news, information, data and connections they need.”
Ledbetter is an accomplished journalist and author who joins Observer from Clarim Media, where he served as chief content officer. Prior to this, he was the head of content at Sequoia Capital, editor in chief of Inc. Magazine, editor of Reuters.com, and held key positions at Slate, TIME and FORTUNE. In his previous tenure at Observer, he created the storied ‘Off the Record’ column, and his writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The New Republic and dozens of others. Ledbetter is the author of six books and serves on the board of the non-profit Economic Hardship Reporting Project.
Prior to his work at Quartz, Staley spent nearly a decade at Bloomberg News in New York and London, covering a range of beats including the European financial crisis, the pharmaceutical industry, hotel and casino industries, and global higher education. His articles about US universities compromising their values in China won several national reporting awards and he serves on the board of governors for the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW).
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About Observer Media
Observer Media is a diversified media, information and services company with interests in digital media such as Observer and Commercial Observer, and information platforms including Realgraph. Observer Media seeks to build brands and businesses that utilize technology and media to empower influential business executives.
