New York Times promotes strategy officer to CFO

Dive Brief:

The New York Times Company promoted William Bardeen, their current chief strategy officer, to the roles of CFO and executive vice president, the company announced Wednesday.
Bardeen succeeds Roland Caputo, who announced his retirement from the New York-based digital news subscription business back in December. Caputo will remain with the company through Sept. 30 to ensure a smooth transition.
The company selected Bardeen to take the financial helm following a “comprehensive search that evaluated both internal and external candidates,” said president and CEO Meredith Kopit Levien in the company statement. “It became clear that Will is the most uniquely suited and qualified leader to succeed Roland as CFO,” she said.

Dive Insight:

Bardeen has been with the New York Times Company for almost fifteen years, starting his tenure as executive director of corporate development back in 2008. In 2011, he took the role of vice president of strategy and corporate development before becoming the media giant’s chief strategy officer in 2018.

With his promotion, Bardeen will receive an annual base salary of $450,000 effective July 1, with a targeted 2023 annual incentive compensation at 100% of that base salary, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Few people understand our business, strategy and marketplace like Will does, and his expertise will be critical as we advance our essential subscription strategy and build a larger and more profitable company,” said Kopit Levien in the statement.

Also on Wednesday, the company reported an increased operating profit of $27.9 million for the quarter ending March 31, compared to $6.3 million in the same period of 2022, according to an SEC filing.

The company also reported an additional 190,000 net new digital subscribers, bringing their total to more than 9.7 million.

“While advertising continues to experience near-term, cyclical challenges, our bundle strategy is gaining momentum, engagement metrics are strong, pricing initiatives are taking hold and we are slowing cost growth,” said Kopit Levien in the earnings release.

Caputo’s retirement announcement came on the heels of more than 1,000 journalists and other employees of the company walking off the job for 24 hours on Dec. 8 2022, in what was one of the largest labor disputes for the newspaper in more than 40 years, CFO Dive previously reported.