Recurrent Ventures Names New CEO, Its Third in 3 Years

The media firm Recurrent Ventures has dismissed its chief govt officer, Alex Vargas, after one yr within the position, in keeping with two individuals accustomed to the matter. Vargas had served because the chief working officer for seven months earlier than changing into CEO.

In his place, the corporate has elevated Andrew Perlman, a co-founder of Recurrent Ventures and former managing director at North Fairness, the non-public fairness firm that owns Recurrent Ventures.

A consultant for the corporate confirmed the information.

“We’re appreciative of all the pieces Alex has helped us accomplish within the final 18 months,” stated director of communications Cathy Hebert. “His perspective and perception have helped each aspect of the corporate and put us in a robust place. On condition that Andrew has been a part of Recurrent from the start, the board feels he’s uniquely positioned to steer the corporate and assist it proceed to evolve and develop.”

Recurrent Ventures, which has acquired greater than two dozen distressed editorial properties since 2018, has struggled to keep up constant management since its blockbuster entry onto the media panorama. Perlman would be the third CEO to helm Recurrent Ventures within the final three years.

With its non-public fairness backing, Recurrent Ventures has raised a battle chest of $400 million. Its most up-to-date spherical of financing, $300 million in Could 2022, was led by Blackstone.

The corporate used the capital to accumulate titles reminiscent of Area & Stream, Domino and In style Science. Its enterprise depends totally on a mixture of programmatic promoting and affiliate income. 

Nevertheless, its speedy spending spree left the corporate overextended and resulted in accusations of mismanagement and sporadic layoffs, as Adweek first reported in October 2022. In July 2021, as an example, the corporate acquired Mel Journal solely to shutter it a yr later.

Recurrent Ventures, alongside media corporations like Dotdash Meredith, Ziff Davis and Future plc, embodied the idea of intent media. On this mannequin, publishers produce area of interest service journalism designed to carry out nicely in search inquiries, which then offers pure contextual alignment between high-intent readers and related manufacturers.