As is the case with many businesses, the fourth quarter at
InvestmentNews is both a time of appraisal and strategic planning. The various department heads behind the
IN brand take stock of their group's track record over the previous nine months.
This is more than an exercise in making sure that budgets are being met. It is a time for us to lift our heads above the daily grind to re-imagine the future of
InvestmentNews.
It was in this spirit that I recently took a good look around our newsroom. What struck me most was the number of new faces and the breadth and depth of journalism talent they represent.
For example, we hired Matt Ackermann to serve as our digital editor in August. Matt comes to us from SourceMedia, where he served as online editor-in-chief for the company's investment adviser group, which includes such publications as Financial Planning and On Wall Street.
In the three months that he has been here, Matt has played a key role in helping us revamp our process for getting stories onto our website. Thanks to Matt, and the rest of our editors and online team, stories are making their way onto our website faster, better edited and richer in related content.
Just before hiring Matt, we hired Lorie Konish, also from SourceMedia, where she served as managing editor for On Wall Street. Lorie is responsible for supplementing our special reports with online content. Thanks to Lorie, the online presentation of our special reports has never looked better and will continue to improve through increased use of video, interactive charts and other multimedia.
We also just hired Joyce Hanson from ThinkAdvisor. Joyce will be covering technology and wealth management.
Experience is nice, but it's also great to identify and develop new talent. Our new general-assignment reporter, Trevor Hunnicutt, is doing great work across a variety of beats, including technology, wealth management and investment strategies.
Like most newsrooms,
InvestmentNews is focused on serving our fast-growing online audience, as well as our print audience. We recently hired Andrew Leigh to serve as our digital content coordinator. He is responsible for a host of functions, including building
InvestmentNews' social-media footprint and enriching online stories with additional content.
In the past year, we hired Matthew Sirinides as our research analyst. Matt helps produce research reports, such as the
IN/Moss Adams Adviser Compensation and Staffing Study and the
IN Adviser Technology Study, that set new benchmarks for the industry.
Ask any leader of any company to come up with a short list of their most pressing business challenges, and recruiting top talent is sure to be on it. Indeed, more than ever, a company's long-term success hinges on having the right people in the right jobs at the right time. As I look around our newsroom, I am proud of the fact that we have recently made great strides in accomplishing that.
[email protected] Twitter: @fredpgabriel
