NY Times Makes Key Digital Appointments

On Tuesday, the New York Times Co. announced key appointments to product and design and the formation of a new products and ventures group, further defining the structure it announced in June. These changes, the company said, are designed to “streamline and raise the ambitions of the company’s digital operations in order to accelerate its rapidly growing digital businesses.”

Alex Rainert, a veteran product design leader and co-founder of dodgeball, has been named head of product and design. In his new role, he will lead the digital product design and product management teams that are responsible for translating the Times’s journalism into digital products.

Joining the product and design team are Matthew Ericson, who will lead news experience, and Ben French, who will assume the new role of SVP, reader experience. Under Ericson, a longtime editor in the newsroom, news experience will set the vision for news presentation in core products, and ensure that workflows, tools and processes are aligned with news and opinion. As head of reader experience, French will work closely with departments across the organization to develop formats and features that will strengthen the Times’s relationship with its audience and increase their likelihood to engage and subscribe.

Alex MacCallum has been appointed the head of new products and ventures, a newly formed team that will include Crosswords and Cooking, and whose charter will be to pursue opportunities for innovation and growth that are brand-congruent yet distinct from the Times’s core digital experience. Previously, MacCallum was an assistant managing editor in charge of video. She also launched and oversaw audience development in the Times newsroom.

In making the announcement, Meredith Kopit Levien, New York Times Co. EVP-COO, said: “These organizational changes represent important steps toward realizing our goal of reaching $800 million in digital revenue by 2020. This talented new leadership team will throw gas on the fire of digital innovation by increasing the value of our products and experiences among readers, viewers and listeners around the world.”