Fortune CEO Alan Murray, 68, will step down from his role at the end of April 2024, the publisher announced. He noted that both he and the owner agreed on the timing for Fortune to change leadership.
Murray, who joined the company as editor in 2014, led Fortune’s spin-off from Meredith in 2019 amid the business magazine’s sale to Thai businessman Chatchaval Jiaravanon, making it a stand-alone company. He was elevated to CEO when the publication was sold.
Murray named Alyson Shontell the editor-in-chief in 2021.
Under Murray’s leadership, the company said, the magazine saw significant revenue and readership growth.
“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,” Murray said in a note to staff announcing his exit.
“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 [six times], increased our revenues by 50%, and produced three straight years of profits, while incubating new businesses,” he said.
“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,” Murray continued. “We agreed the timing was right for a change in leadership.”
Murray said he will help with the transition to a new CEO before he leaves the company.
A veteran journalist who previously worked at The Wall Street Journal and CNBC, Murray was formerly chief content officer of all Time Inc.’s magazines. He was president of the Pew Research Foundation prior to landing at Fortune.
Fortune was founded in 1929, with its first issue publishing in February 1930. The magazine is synonymous with its annual Fortune 500 list, which ranks the top U.S. companies.
Its unionized editorial staffers walked off the job for two days in 2021 to protest what the NewsGuild called “bad faith negotiations.”