Huffington Post gets new CEO, spins departure of old one

Huffington Post’s investors have seemingly undertaken a small coup d’état, dumping CEO Betsy Morgan in favor of Eric Hippeau of Softbank Capital.

On the surface at least, the change in leadership would appear to be amicable, at least as much as these things can be. The press release heaps praise on Morgan, but makes no attempt to explain why she was “leaving the company” or where she was headed next, a sure sign that the push was unexpected.

On paper, new CEO Eric Hippeau would appear to be well qualified for the position. As well as having been on The Huffington Post’s board for several years, he is a former CEO of Ziff-Davis, the then publisher of ZDNet. Morgan was formerly with CBS, the current owner of ZDNet.

Hippeau’s has an interesting challenge going for with The Huffington Post. The company is well cashed up, but likewise having risen to the top in terms of traffic they must develop new projects to drive new growth, never an easy task when you’re already near the top of your game. The Huffington Post’s foray into investigative journalism offers some promise, but the more interesting project is its foray into local news, a sector notable for the number of failed startups that couldn’t turn local news into a viable business.

(Image via AllThingsD)