Fortune CEO Alan Murray to step down

Under Murray’s leadership, Fortune successfully spun out from Meredith in 2019 and was established as an independent company for the first time. During his tenure, Fortune has maintained its position as a highly regarded, award-winning business news and global conference source while growing revenue and readership significantly and building profitability over the past three years.

As the company looks toward its next era of growth, Murray and Fortune’s owners agreed that now is the right time for a leadership transition.

Prior to joining Fortune in 2014, Murray held senior editorial positions at Fortune magazine. wall street journal and CNBC.He previously served as chief content officer for all Time Inc. magazines, including sports illustrated and time.

Here’s the memo he sent to employees:

all,

I want to let everyone know that, pursuant to an agreement between Fortune magazine’s owners and board of directors, I will be resigning as CEO at the end of April next year.

Leading this legendary brand over the past five years has been the honor of a lifetime and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. We established Fortune as an independent company, reaffirmed our commitment to great journalism, strengthened its mission to make business better, grew our digital audience sixfold, increased our revenue by 50%, and Achieved profits for three consecutive years while incubating new businesses.

This turnaround story sets the stage for Fortune’s next phase of growth, during which the owner has made clear that he plans to continue investing in quality journalism, innovate in new product areas, and expand internationally. We all agreed that now was the right time for a change in leadership.

I plan to invest my time over the next six months to ensure a smooth and successful CEO transition while Anastasia continues to take the lead in managing our day-to-day operations. There is still much work to be done to ensure we have the talent and organization in place to achieve continued success and rapid growth. I hope to provide more information on the transition in the coming weeks.

As for what I’m going to do next, I’m holding off until the spring when our transition is complete. I have always loved change and have no plans to retire. Our boss has asked me to consider staying at Fortune Magazine in a different role, and I promise to consider that once I make the transition.

At the same time, I know very well that Fortune magazine has a very bright future. My goal has always been to see Fortune magazine reach its 100th birthday and to chart the course for its second centenary. I have no doubt we will get there, given the great work you have done over the past five years and the commitment of our owners to accelerate growth and support great journalism.

Sincerely,

Allen