AUSTIN RIEF

PERSONAL HOME PAGE

Moving On from CEO of Morning Brew

After a decade of building Morning Brew from a college project to a multifaceted media company, I recently made the decision to transition from CEO to Executive Chairman. Here's the message I shared with our team and my reflections on this milestone.

Some bittersweet news: I am moving on from CEO of Morning Brew.

The last decade of starting and running Morning Brew has been the journey of a lifetime.

Thank you to everyone who has read, listened, watched, or shared our content. This has only been possible because of you.


Team —

Morning Brew's first core value was to be curious.

Unsurprisingly, it was originally curiosity that brought Alex and me together at the University of Michigan almost exactly 10 years ago. When we began Morning Brew, all we were trying to do was answer this question: Why are none of our classmates engaging with business news?

That simple question became the first brick in the foundation of this company.

From day one, we wanted to create something different. While the rest of the media world was raising millions for social video, we stayed lean and scrappy, building what we believed to be the best business newsletter in the world.

A lot of people called us crazy for focusing on something as small as a single newsletter, but we knew that creating and maintaining a relationship with our audience was the first step in building a daily habit with the next generation of business leaders.

It wasn't always easy. With little funding, we recruited a group of outsiders (some of whom are still here today!), set up shop in the Financial District, and spent two straight years writing, growing, and monetizing the newsletter that is today known as Morning Brew.

In those days, it felt like it was us against the world. We were always aware that we could go away at any point, but our determination and passion paid off. Over the past decade, we've grown from that singular best-in-class newsletter into an incredibly dynamic content organization that can go toe-to-toe with anyone. And you don't have to take my word for it – just ask Joe Biden, Alexis Ohanian, or anyone else who consistently shares our content.

And while it's heartening to see things like that to know that we've made a real mark on the business world, it's the continued relationship we have with an ever-growing audience that gives me the confidence to know that this business, now Morning Brew Inc., has transcended any one person and will remain influential in the business world for decades to come.

It is hard to believe it's been a decade since Alex and I mocked up that first newsletter. Ten years is truly a milestone, particularly in the ever-changing world of business media, and for me, significant milestones are always a time for reflection.

In that spirit of reflection, I have decided it is the right moment for me to move on from my time as Morning Brew Inc.'s CEO.

When I took that job in 2021, we were a 50-person company focused mostly on newsletters. My #1 goal was to turn this fast growing media start-up into a sustainable, multiplatform brand.

And over the last four years we've done just that. We've evolved into a business with several creator-led consumer franchises and a stable of seven B2B industry publications. These new franchises have helped us track for over $70m of annual revenue in 2025 with significant double digit profit margins.

The culmination of this transition came at the end of last year, when we launched our new corporate identity and website: MorningBrewInc.com

With Morning Brew Inc. now well-established, the continued growth of our core newsletter business and multi-media offerings, as well as the success of our B2B industry-specific content and events, it is the natural time for my role to evolve and I'm excited to continue my journey with Morning Brew Inc. as Executive Chairman.

While the success of our content has brought me immense pride over the last 10 years, the thing that I am proudest of is the group of talented and hardworking people we have brought in to lead this business.

Starting today, Robert Dippell will step into the CEO role. As you know, Robert has been with us for over two years, most recently as COO / CRO. His experience running successful media organizations, his knowledge of Morning Brew Inc., and his passion for the business make him the perfect person to lead us for the next decade. We are lucky to have him at the helm of our business.

Additionally, Devin McCue Emery will become President. Devin joined Morning Brew in 2022 as Chief Content Officer and has been a principal architect of the multimedia strategy that has made audio and video content a larger part of Morning Brew Inc. Devin has evolved our company in ways I couldn't have imagined, and I look forward to him having a larger role in the operation of the business everyday.

As for myself, I am as excited as ever about the future of Morning Brew and will remain actively involved as Executive Chairman. I will have regular conversations with Robert, Devin, and look forward to catching up with many of you around the office.

Having spent the last four years looking for leaders who embody the ethos of Morning Brew Inc., I feel fortunate that we have two internal leaders ready to take the reins.

As I write this final email as CEO, I feel an immense sense of gratitude for each and every one of you. When I started Morning Brew, I told my family that my dream was to not have a "real job." While running Morning Brew Inc. hasn't always been easy, it has certainly never felt like a "real job" and the only reason I've been able to live out that dream is because of all of you. Thank you for all the hard work and dedication you've put in to make this company great.

While there are too many of you to thank individually, I want to give Alex Lieberman a special shoutout. Without Alex's passion, curiosity, and creativity, this business would not be what it is today.

As I alluded to at the start of this email, in 2019 we rolled out our first set of core values. While our values have evolved over time, their essence is what has made Morning Brew Inc. unique and successful. My parting advice is to let these guide you throughout your time here and wherever your career may take you:

We are CURIOUS: We strive to learn every day through constant questioning and exploration.

We are PURPOSEFUL: We do everything with the highest level of thoughtfulness, preparation and focus.

We are CHALLENGERS: We approach every day with an underdog mentality and are never complacent.

We are EMPATHETIC: We are good, genuine people who embrace others' perspectives.

As long as we stay curious about the stories we cover, stay purposeful about what and how we work, never lose that challenger mentality from our early days, and most importantly continue to hire the most empathetic and best people in media, Morning Brew Inc. will continue to thrive.

Onwards.

Austin

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