Morning Brew Publisher Steps Down to Focus On New Media Venture

The business news publisher Morning Brew, which operates a portfolio of newsletters catering to professionals in industries ranging from finance to healthcare, announced two key changes to its executive leadership team on Monday, according to an internal memo seen by Adweek.

Publisher Jacob Donnelly, who has served in the role since 2019, will be leaving the company at the end of the year to focus on his independent media venture, A Media Operator, according to the memo. 

Donnelly launched AMO, a newsletter with free and paid tiers that analyzes the media business, in September 2018. In January, it reached an audience of 4,400 free subscribers, and in October AMO hosted its first event, according to the publisher.

“I could not be happier nor more supportive of Jacob pursuing his entrepreneurial journey,” Morning Brew chief executive and cofounder Austin Rief wrote in the memo. “Jacob: We are all going to root for you next year, and hope you continue to build a media powerhouse.”

The company has also named Robert Dippell as its new, full-time chief operating officer (COO), according to the memo. Dippell has been the interim COO since September, when his predecessor, Matthew Resnick, parted ways with Morning Brew before joining The Information. Chief revenue officer (CRO) Kenneth Shapiro also left the company in September.

As COO, Dippell will oversee the finance, operations, professional editorial, product, events and audience development and growth teams. 

He will work alongside chief commercial officer (CCO) Sara Badler, whom Morning Brew hired last week to head its advertising efforts. Badler joined Morning Brew from Dotdash Meredith.

“Robert has been transformational for Morning Brew in a short amount of time, and I couldn’t be more excited for him to officially join and continue the great work he’s been doing,” Rief wrote.

The executive shuffle marks a critical juncture for Morning Brew. In the last three months, it has parted ways with its CRO, COO and publisher, replaced its COO and hired a CCO. 

The company, which launched in 2015, was an early adopter of the newsletter-based media model. Since being acquired by Axel Springer in 2020 at a $75 million valuation, Morning Brew has grown rapidly, expanding from its flagship newsletter to a stable of 10 email products, a host of podcasts and an events business. 

This year, the 110-person company is poised to generate around $20 million in annualized revenue, according to the memo. The end-of-year result marks a significant decline from years past, however. 

In 2021, the publisher reportedly brought in $46 million in revenue, and in 2022 it generated $36 million in the first half of the year. 

The company, like many media operations this year, has been forced to reduce its headcount to manage costs amid a depressed advertising climate. It eliminated 14% of its staff in November 2022 and laid off 40 employees in March, according to Axios.