Digital chief Denise Warren leaves the Times
5:50 p.m. | Oct. 28, 2014
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Denise Warren, The New York Times' digital chief and a 26-year veteran, is leaving the company as a result of what Times brass described as "organizational changes."
Warren has served as executive vice president of digital products and services since April 2013. But Times Company chairman Arthur Sulzberger Jr. and C.E.O. Mark Thompson told staff in a Tuesday afternoon memo that the role is being eliminated, with its responsibilities divvied up between an executive vice president of digital and an executive vice president of marketing.
No word yet on who will fill either role, but it won't be Warren, who did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
"Denise Warren has made the decision not to occupy either of these positions and will leave," said Sulzberger and Thompson, characterizing the change as part of a push to "drive growth by refining our new product strategy as well as the marketing of our offerings."
Warren's exit is the latest in a string of executive departures over the course of the past several years, as the Times Company has become smaller and more focused on scaling its core brand digitally and globally in the face of a difficult financial picture. She follows former C.E.O. Janet Robinson, former communications chief Bob Christie and former advertising chief Todd Haskell, among others.
Some insiders were not surprised by the news. After Robinson was ousted in 2011, Warren was the No. 2 candidate for the C.E.O. slot that ended up going to Thompson, a former BBC bigwig, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Capital.
Having previously served as general manager of nytimes.com, Warren was closely tied to the implementation of a paid digital strategy the Times embarked on in 2011 to offset diminished advertising revenues.
Recently, that strategy has encountered some headwinds. A pair of new mobile subscription products, NYT Now and NYT Opinion, have performed below expectations. (The latter was killed just months after its debut.) And while more than 800,000 people now pay to read the Times on their desktop and mobile browsers, overall digital-subscription growth has lost some of its momentum, with 32,000 new signups in the second quarter of 2014.
During that same quarter, the Times saw a slight drop in total revenues and a 4.1 percent decline in advertising revenues, with net income down 55 percent to a little more than $9 million.
By restructuring Warren's job, the Times appears to be making a statement about its digital business ahead of the company's third-quarter earnings release this Thursday.
The Times is also in the process of reducing its newsroom and business-side headcount through buyouts and layoffs. A source close to the company said there's been talk of additional executive departures before year's end.
In their memo, Sulzberger and Thompson credited Warren, who also previously served as chief advertising officer, with being involved in "a wide range of strategically important positions throughout the organization. We’re immensely grateful for her innumerable contributions to the company over her time here; in particular for the central role she played in helping orchestrate the initial implementation, launch and success of our digital subscription business."
The new E.V.P. roles will give Thompson the opportunity to bring in fresh blood and work with more of his own people in addition to legacy hires. A group of existing executives will help pick up the slack until the positions are filled.
The full memo about Warren is below:
Dear Colleagues:
Building a strong portfolio of digital products and subscription offerings and reaching new customers for our journalism is an essential part of our growth strategy. We have told you previously that we believe there is further opportunity to drive growth by refining our new product strategy as well as the marketing of our offerings. Today, we are announcing some organizational changes that are intended to help us accelerate that process.
Effective immediately, the role of EVP of the digital products and services group is being eliminated. The responsibilities of that role will be divided between an EVP of digital and an EVP of marketing, both of whom will report to Mark.
The EVP, digital will have oversight responsibility for technology, all digital products, user-experience and data and analytics. The EVP, marketing will be responsible for print and digital subscription marketing, brand marketing, customer care and all consumer revenue streams.
Denise Warren has made the decision not to occupy either of these positions and will leave The Times after a 26-year career that saw her serve in a wide range of strategically important positions throughout the organization. We’re immensely grateful for her innumerable contributions to the company over her time here; in particular for the central role she played in helping orchestrate the initial implementation, launch and success of our digital subscription business.
While the search for the EVP, marketing and EVP, digital is ongoing,Yasmin Namini will continue to oversee marketing. Paul Smurl will fill in as head of digital products with Rebecca Howard and David Perpich reporting to him. Marc Frons will continue to lead technology and Tom Carley, the ventures group. Yasmin, Paul, Marc and Tom will report to Mark on an interim basis.
Our business is changing at a faster pace than ever and we believe it is critical to have specialized business leadership in the key areas of digital and marketing in much the same way that we have in advertising. Success in all of these areas is essential to accelerating our growth and securing our future.
We fully understand that organizational change can be disruptive and sometimes painful, but it’s essential that the shape of the organization meet our current needs as we embark on the next chapter of our digital future. Your managers are prepared to help guide you through this new organizational structure and as ever, we thank you for your hard work and dedication.
Arthur and Mark
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article mistakenly listed the Times Company's second quarter net income as $9 billion as opposed to $9 million.
