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Arianna Huffington to leave Huffington Post for startup Thrive Arianna Huffington to leave Huffington Post for startup Thrive
(35 minutes later)
Arianna Huffington is to leave the Huffington Post to launch a health-focused startup called Thrive. Arianna Huffington is to leave the Huffington Post to launch a health-focused startup called Thrive Global to tackle stress and burnout.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Huffington said she had hoped to continue working at the site bearing her name, where she is editor-in-chief and president, after signing a new contract last year allowing her to work on other projects. Huffington said she had hoped to continue working at the site bearing her name, where she is editor-in-chief and president, after signing a new contract last year allowing her to work on other projects.
However, she said she had changed her mind after closing a funding round for Thrive late last week.However, she said she had changed her mind after closing a funding round for Thrive late last week.
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“I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realised that it really needed my full attention,” she said. “It is important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived.” She said in a statement: “When I decided to create Thrive Global, I thought it would be possible to build a startup and continue as editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post. Today, it’s clear that was an illusion.
Her departure comes just over a decade after she founded the Huffington Post with Kenneth Lehrer, Jonah Peretti and Andrew Breitbart. Peretti founded BuzzFeed and Lehrer is its chairman, while Breitbart went on to create the rightwing news site that is named after him. “As Thrive Global moved from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff, and offices, it became clear to me that I simply couldn’t do justice to both companies.”
In 2011 Huffington Post was bought for $315m (£243m) by AOL, which in turn was bought for $4.4bn in 2014 by US mobile operator Verizon. Yahoo. Her departure comes just over a decade after she founded the Huffington Post with Kenneth Lerer, Jonah Peretti and Andrew Breitbart. Peretti founded BuzzFeed and Lerer is its chairman, while Breitbart went on to create the rightwing news site that is named after him.
Though she has stayed on as the site’s editor-in-chief and president, Huffington has in recent years spent increasing amounts of time promoting healthy living concepts such as mindfulness and the benefits of getting enough sleep. In 2011 Huffington Post was bought for $315m (£243m) by AOL, which in turn was bought for $4.4bn in 2014 by US mobile operator Verizon. Verizon recently added Yahoo to its portfolio, buying the ailing internet giant for $4.83bn (£3.62bn) in July.
More details soon ... Armstrong said Aol remained committed to the Huffington Post, and said the company looked forward to partnering with Thrive.
He said: “Arianna is a visionary who built the Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform. Today, The Huffington Post is a firmly established and celebrated news source and AOL and Verizon are committed to continuing its growth and the groundbreaking work Arianna pioneered.”
Though she stayed on as the site’s editor-in-chief and president following Huffington Post’s changes of ownership, Huffington has in recent years spent increasing amounts of time promoting healthy living concepts such as mindfulness and the benefits of getting enough sleep.
Thrive, which shares a name with a book published by Huffington in 2014, promises to offer a range of services and support using “the latest scientific findings from experts in the fields of neuroscience, psychology, productivity, sports and sleep”.
The company is backed by a range of venture capital firms and angel investors led by Lerer’s Lerer Hippeau Ventures, and has been running a pilot programme with Accenture.
Huffington, who will serve as its chief executive, added: “As Thrive Global moved from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff, and offices, it became clear to me that I simply couldn’t do justice to both companies ... Running both companies would have involved working around the clock, which would be a betrayal of the very principles of Thrive I’ve been writing and speaking about.”
“I step down as editor-in-chief filled with gratitude for our amazing HuffPost team and for what we’ve built together, and for Tim Armstrong who had the vision to buy HuffPost five years ago and to support from day one our global expansion. The journey of the last 11 years has exceeded my wildest expectations. I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished and very confident about HuffPost’s future with the strongest leadership team we’ve ever had and the full support of AOL and Verizon.”