Huffington Post CEO Betsy Morgan is leaving the company, slated to be replaced later this week by Softbank Capital's Eric Hippeau. Morgan was first hired in 2007.
The news was first reported on Monday by PaidContent.
Hippeau has been serving on the board of the left-leaning news outlet, which was co-founded by pundit Arianna Huffington in 2005, since its first round of venture funding in 2006. The former chairman and CEO of Ziff Davis Media, he's on the board of a number of different companies including Yahoo. His new role at Softbank will be "special partner and adviser."
In December, the Huffington Post raised another $25 million in funding. It was riding a wave of popularity--and scrutiny, considering its controversial views on paying for content and labor--in the wake of the 2008 presidential election, and was starting to aggressively expand coverage beyond politics. Long-term profitability, however, was still a question mark.
"We've had a really good year, ad-wise," Morgan said to CNET News in an interview shortly before the presidential election. "We're in the game at a different point in our life cycle than the other mainstream players. We've seen the brand really grow to top of mind with both agencies and clients and the response has been really positive."
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