- Maven (OTC: MVEN) recently announced the evolution of its leadership and a new round of investment. Ross Levinsohn — the current CEO of Sports Illustrated media — will expand his role and become Maven CEO
Maven (OTC: MVEN) recently announced new leadership and a new round of investment, which enables the company to accelerate the execution of its strategic initiatives. Ross Levinsohn — the current CEO of Sports Illustrated media — will expand his role and become Maven CEO.
Maven currently reaches 150 million consumers every month operating the digital and print business for Sports Illustrated, TheStreet featuring Jim Cramer, and powers the technical platform and monetization engine for over 300 brands including History.com, Ski Magazine, Maxim and Biography.
Levinsohn has been at the intersection of media, finance, and technology over the past three decades. For example, he served as interim CEO of Yahoo! after leading the Americas division and Head of Global Media for one of the largest consumer businesses on the Internet. And previously, he served as President of Fox Interactive Media, the digital arm of News Corporation. His experience also includes roles at HBO, Tribune, Guggenheim Digital Media, Alta Vista, and CBS Sportsline.
As part of the evolution, Maven Founder James Heckman is going to transition from his CEO role and will advise Levinsohn on key strategic and business development initiatives.
Sports Illustrated is owned by Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a brand development, marketing, and entertainment company that owns a global portfolio of media, entertainment, and lifestyle brands. And Maven has rapidly grown in several segments of its business including TheStreet — which has increased its audience and subscription offerings significantly since being acquired last summer.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are excited about this new chapter in the evolution of the company, our partnerships and the leadership Ross will bring to the company,” said
— Maven’s Executive Chairman John Fichthorn
“This is a unique opportunity to lead a technology and media company during a dynamic time of change in both spaces. I’m excited to partner with a powerful array of incredible brands, partners, and a world-class team of executives and employees.”
“We are rolling up our sleeves during this transformative time, with some of the best talent in our industry.”
— Ross Levinsohn
“As a large shareholder, we are supportive of the Board’s decision to appoint Ross Levinsohn as CEO of Maven. We are confident Ross and the entire Maven team will be building bridges to enhance the Sports Illustrated brand as well as continue to invest in supporting other coalition members including History, Maxim, and Biography. Additionally, we believe that Maven’s ability to make Jim Cramer’s wisdom heard by a wider audience provides a great service to the investing public.”
— Kevin M. Rendino, Chief Executive Officer of 180 Degree Capital Corp
“B. Riley Financial as a significant debt and equity holder is committed to working with new management to take advantage of the vast amount of opportunities in the market to enhance the platform and the company.”
— Bryant Riley, Chairman and Co-CEO of B. Riley Financial
“The vision of this company has reached an inflection point; now empowering professional brands, at major media scale, with world-class digital technology, distribution and monetization.”
— Maven Founder James Heckman
“We congratulate Ross on his expanded role as CEO of Maven and are fully committed to working with him and the entire Sports Illustrated media and Maven team to continue to tell the most compelling stories in sports, drive audience growth, expand into new verticals such as gambling and e-sports and explore other opportunities that leverage the storied portfolio of ABG’s brands.”
— ABG’s Executive Vice Chairman Dan Dienst
“I’ve known Ross for many years, and couldn’t be more excited to expand our relationship and take this opportunity forward.”
— Jim Cramer, Founder of TheStreet and ActionAlertsPLUS.com, his exclusive stock club
Featured Photo Credit: Ross Levinsohn
