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The technology publisher The Information has hired Matthew Resnick, the former chief operating officer (COO) of Morning Brew, as its COO, where he will be tasked with growing its consumer revenue and branded partnerships businesses.
As part of the shuffle, the publisher has also parted ways with its first-ever chief commercial officer, Karl Wells, who started at the company last August, according to an internal memo whose contents were shared with Adweek.
A representative for The Information confirmed the news.
Wells joined The Information after serving as the chief subscriptions officer for Dow Jones, where he managed a team of nearly 150 people and scaled subscription businesses at The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and MarketWatch. At the time of his hiring, Vanity Fair called him a “subscription wizard.”
Unlike Wells, Resnick comes from a background less focused on subscriptions. Morning Brew, a network of free newsletters catering to various industries, does not have a paid subscription product.
Resnick was one of two executives, alongside chief revenue officer Kenneth Shapiro, who was let go from Morning Brew in September.
For the publisher, the executive shake-up is the latest in a string of departures related to consumer revenue roles, and it comes as The Information approaches its 10-year anniversary in December.
In its decade of operations, The Information has distinguished itself through its independent ownership and its dedication to a subscription-based business model.
But while its focus on subscriptions has shielded it from the vicissitudes of the broader advertising market, the strategy has also limited its ability to scale revenue and increased the pressure on its consumer revenue operation, according to three people familiar with its business.
Standard subscriptions to The Information cost $399 annually, although the 60-person company unveiled a $999 Information Pro subscription in February. Vanity Fair reported last August that the publisher has 360,000 “active readers,” which includes both paid subscribers and unpaid newsletter sign-ups.
A restrictive emphasis on subscriptions
The Information, under the direction of founder and chief executive Jessica Lessin, has eschewed many elements of a traditional advertising business, such as display ads. Its brand partnership business largely consists of newsletter and event sponsorships.
The resulting pressure on the subscription business has led to turnover in key roles related to consumer revenue. According to company insiders, the publisher has struggled to achieve the subscriptions growth expected from Lessin, which has led to turnover.
Since 2020, two executives tasked with growing subscriptions at The Information—Guillaume McIntyre and Sam Rosen—have left the company.
McIntyre, who joined from Instacart, served as vice president of marketing for 12 months; Rosen, who joined from The Atlantic, served as the general manager of the consumer business for nine months.
The current vice president of growth at the company, George DiGuido, joined in August alongside Wells. He previously worked at Insider.
Growing brand partnership business
Resnick’s hiring is not an indication that The Information plans to broaden its advertising business, according to an executive familiar with the hiring. Rather, the publisher hopes to more meaningfully grow the brand partnership business.
However, the strict paywall and relatively niche readership of the publisher can present challenges to growing a material advertising business.
“To be a successful media business today, you have to have everything,” said the executive. “You need subscriptions, but you also need ads.”
