Bloomberg Media Hires NYT Vet to Oversee Events Business

The business news publisher Bloomberg Media has hired Jessica Flood to serve as its global head of Bloomberg Live and Bloomberg New Economy, a newly created role that reflects the changing landscape of events in a post-pandemic economy. Flood will report to chief commercial officer Stephen Colvin and starts July 11. In the position, Flood will oversee all areas of business connected to the two branches of Bloomberg Media events: Bloomberg Live, a series of 40-60 virtual and hybrid events per year; and Bloomberg New Economy, which includes the flagship franchise Bloomberg New Economy Forum. In May, Bloomberg Media chief executive Scott Havens also told Adweek that the publisher plans to launch a suite of new consumer-facing events within the year. Flood joins Bloomberg Media from The New York Times, where she served as its managing director of NYT Events after joining in 2017. She held previous roles at TED x New York and New Lab. Flood will join Bloomberg Media from The New York Times, where she served as managing director of NYT Events. "I’m thrilled to be joining the exceptional team at Bloomberg Media to expand the company’s unmatched events offering,” Flood said in a release. “We have a huge opportunity at this unique moment in time to deliver new live formats that align with the needs of our audiences across video, TV, audio and print platforms.” The announcement comes as publishers, many of which spent the last two years building out their virtual event offerings, now begin to evaluate how online-only and hybrid events fit within their larger events strategy. Publishers are again reminded of the higher cost, higher returns and lower margins of in-person events. Virtual events brought new sponsorship opportunities and served as a low-lift perk for subscribers—but from a product perspective, the space is still in its infancy, said Rafat Ali, chief executive and founder of the travel and events company Skift. “After two years, the pendulum is swinging back,” said Ali. “Everyone has grown tired of virtual events but, as with everything, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. And to conduct in-person, hybrid and virtual events well, everyone has to be part of the same organization.” Bloomberg Media has invested heavily in developing new channels for its reporting to reach consumers, including audio projects, a connected television offering and a series of niche verticals covering in-demand subjects, like crypto and the climate. In May, Bloomberg Media announced that it is expanding into the U.K. It has seen particular success in its events business, with the sector seeing revenue increases of 81% year over year. Bloomberg Live, specifically, saw revenues rise 47%. Its investment in the events space comes as consumer desire to return to in-person gatherings reaches new heights, following two years of social distancing. A number of publishers, including The Atlantic and Condé Nast, have announced new initiatives to capitalize on the pent-up demand. Bloomberg Media Nets 41% Digital Ad Bump as It Expands Overseas Although hybrid events are a relatively new product, publishers equipped with the resources and organizational skills to experiment in the space will be the first to benefit from advancements in the field, Ali said. “The technology is changing quickly, such that whatever crappy virtual experiences we've had over the last few years are only the beginning of what’s to come,” he said.

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Bloomberg Media Hires NYT Vet to Oversee Combined Events Business

The new role reflects the future of post-pandemic events

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg