Fortune CEO Alan Murray to step down

Under Murray’s leadership, Fortune successfully spun out of Meredith in 2019 and was established as a standalone company for the first time. During his tenure, Fortune maintained its highly respected, award-winning business journalism and global conferences, while significantly growing revenue, readership, and it established profitability for the last three years.

As the company eyes its next era of growth, Murray and Fortune’s ownership have mutually agreed it is an appropriate time for a leadership transition.

Prior to joining Fortune in 2014, Murray worked in senior editorial roles at the Wall Street Journal and CNBC. He was formerly chief content officer of all Time Inc.’s magazines, including Sports Illustrated and Time.

Below is the memo he sent to staff:

All, 

I want to let you know that, in agreement with Fortune’s owner and board, I will be stepping down as CEO at the end of April next year.  

It has been the honor of my life to lead this storied brand for the past five years, and I am proud of what we have accomplished. We established Fortune as an independent company, reaffirmed its commitment to great journalism, reinforced its mission of making business better, grew our digital audience by 6X, increased our revenues by 50%, and produced three straight years of profits, while incubating new businesses.

That turnaround story is the foundation for the next stage of Fortune’s growth, during which the owner has made clear he plans to continue to invest in quality journalism, innovate in new product areas, and expand internationally.  We agreed the timing was right for a change in leadership.

I plan to devote my time over the next six months to making sure the CEO transition is a smooth and successful one, while Anastasia continues to take the lead in managing our daily operations. There’s a lot to be done to make sure we have the talent and organization in place for continued success and rapid growth. I hope to provide more information on the transition in the coming weeks.

As to what comes next for me, I am putting that off until the Spring and our transition is complete.  I have always enjoyed change, and have no plans to retire. Our owner has asked me to consider staying with Fortune in a different role, and I have promised to consider that once we complete the transition.

In the meantime, it is absolutely clear to me that Fortune has a very bright future. It has always been my goal to see that Fortune makes it to its 100th birthday with a clear path to a second hundred years. Given the great work you all have done over the last five years and our owner’s commitment to accelerating growth and supporting great journalism, I have no doubt we will get there.

Sincerely,

Alan