Business Insider’s top editor Nicholas Carlson is stepping down.
“Team!” he wrote in an email to staffers on Tuesday morning, which was obtained by The Daily Beast. “Something I hope you know about me is that I believe life is an adventure. That we only have so many heartbeats and we should use them to live life to the fullest. In that spirit, I’ve decided to make a very big change in my life: Later this summer, I will be stepping down from my position as Global Editor-in-Chief.” The news of his exit was first reported by Semafor.
The outlet’s CEO, Barbara Peng, who will lead the search for his replacement, heralded Carlson as “one of the most creative and innovative leaders in journalism” in her own memo to staffers.
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“He has shaped so much of what Business Insider has become and I want to thank him for his tremendous contributions,” she wrote.
Carlson said he would transition to an “editor-at-large” role afterward and he underscored that the move was not related to any of Business Insider’s work. His exit, however, comes months after the business publication was embroiled in controversy after it published multiple stories alleging scholar Neri Oxman, the wife of billionaire Bill Ackman, had lifted elements of her 2010 doctoral dissertation from other writers (and, in some cases, Wikipedia) without any citations.
German publishing empire Axel Springer, which owns Business Insider, conducted a weeklong review after Ackman launched a dayslong tirade against the outlet. The publication eventually stood by the stories, but the firestorm by Ackman put Carlson's future at the publication in doubt. Semafor reported last month that CEO Mathias Döpfner considered firing Carlson during the maelstrom.
“Nicholas Carlson’s leadership enabled Business Insider to become an award-winning newsroom that reaches hundreds of millions of readers and viewers monthly around the world, and we look forward to continuing our work with him as he transitions to Editor-at-Large,” an Axel Springer spokesperson said in a statement.
The publication—which saw multiple rebrandings, including a stint as “Insider” before reverting to its original name last year—has occasionally been a casualty of the troubles facing digital media following the COVID-19 pandemic. Business Insider underwent two rounds of layoffs in less than a year, and management faced a nasty battle with its union. (It finalized a contract with its union last year.)
The outlet has also tried its hands at various new beats, including politics, for periods before refocusing the newsroom on business news. Still, the outlet won several prestigious awards, including a Pulitzer Prize in 2022 and a National Magazine Award last month.
