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Baba Shetty (Photo via Twitter).
Baba Shetty is stepping down as CEO of Newsweek/The Daily Beast after just nine months in the position, editor in chief Tina Brown wrote in a memo that went out to staff this evening. Mr. Shetty will take the summer off to "spend time with his family."
Newsweek's international publisher Rhona Murphy will return to New York as interim CEO.
Mr. Shetty, who came over from advertising agency Hill Holiday, succeeded Stephen Colvin as CEO back in September. But unlike Mr. Colvin (and in an unusual chain of command), Mr. Shetty reported directly to Ms. Brown.
"I wanted to let you all know that Baba Shetty is moving on as CEO, taking the summer off to spend some time with his family," Ms. Brown wrote in the memo. "He has presided over a terrific nine months of product development and digital growth here, during which time he has brought in and cultivated a dynamic digital team, led by Mike Dyer. We wish Baba great success in his future ventures."
It's been a rough nine months at Newsweek/The Daily Beast, to say the least. Just last week Ms. Brown and Mr. Shetty confirmed reports that parent company IAC was exploring selling off the magazine, which shuttered the print edition and went digital-only at the beginning of 2013. Last winter, the magazine laid off staffers in what sources at the time called a "bloodbath." And a study published earlier this week by the Pew Center for Excellence in Journalism found that the magazine lost half its subscribers over the past three years.
Family time is looking better and better.
