Executive Director, Business Development & Commerce (LA Times Studios)

The Executive Director of Business Development drives sustainable growth and business innovation by forging impactful partnerships and aligning business initiatives with the evolving needs of audiences and advertisers. A central function of the role is to expand revenue opportunities and diversify income streams-specifically within AI, Games, and Commerce while strictly upholding the organization's journalistic integrity and values.

Responsibilities:

Commerce & Revenue Growth

• Lead day-to-day commerce operations and growth initiatives across direct-to-consumer and affiliate channels.
• Oversee partnerships and fulfillment operations for the Company Store and manage associated commerce products.
• Develop and manage commercial partnerships that support near- and mid-term revenue goals.

Strategic Partnerships & AI Innovation

• Manage and expand key AI and technology partnerships (e.g., Perplexity, Particle, Google) in support of defined product and revenue objectives.
• Identify and execute partnership opportunities that integrate the Company's Insights products into emerging platforms, including voice and AI-driven distribution.
  Oversee licensing and syndication relationships with automated feed partners such as Apple News, Yahoo News, MSN, Smartnews, and Google Showcase.

Product Growth: Games & Interactive Media

• Lead the business strategy for the Games vertical in collaboration with cross-functional teams to improve engagement and monetization.
• Manage vendor partnerships (e.g., LilSnack) to launch and scale partner-driven gaming content.
• Partner with Product and Engineering to guide roadmaps that support brand consistency, metadata optimization, and user engagement features (e.g., streaks, sharing).

Commerce, Royalties & New Ventures

• Direct Company Store strategy tied to key market moments (e.g., major sports or cultural events) and support expansion into new merchandising opportunities.
• Oversee outsourced rights and permissions operations (e.g., Wrights Media) to ensure efficient workflows and sustained royalty revenue from partners such as Getty.

Operations & Growth Initiatives

• Evaluate potential partnership, investment opportunities and support due diligence efforts in collaboration with Finance and Legal.
• Identify and manage third-party partners to address yield management challenges and optimize programmatic and platform-based revenue.
• Lead structural platform partnerships (e.g., FlatPlan.io) to improve content delivery, reporting, and quality assurance across third-party platforms.

Leadership & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Hire, develop, and performance-manage a team of direct reports and key contractors.
• Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, and collaboration across business development initiatives.
• Partner with leaders across the California Times portfolio to design and launch new revenue programs with clear business cases and standalone economic viability.

Financial Planning & Business Modeling

• Work closely with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, and performance tracking for business development initiatives.
• Build financial and operational models to support partnership evaluations, new business cases, and revenue growth strategies.

Licensing & Syndication Expansion

• Continue to grow the licensing and syndication business by developing new partner relationships while strengthening and optimizing existing partnerships.
• Maximize revenue through structured deal management, performance monitoring, and renewal strategies.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Economics, Marketing, Technology, Media, or a related field required and 12+ years of progressive experience in business development, strategic partnerships, product commercialization,. OR 14+ years of progressive experience in business development, strategic partnerships, product commercialization,
• 7+ years of people leadership experience, cross-functional teams, and external partners.
• Demonstrated success building and scaling new revenue streams across digital media, technology, commerce, and emerging platforms.
• Proven experience leading complex negotiations, licensing agreements, and multi-year strategic partnerships.
• Ability to define and execute long-term growth strategies across commerce, licensing, partnerships, and new technologies.
• Experience launching and scaling new business lines, products, or ventures from concept through execution.
• Strong understanding of marketplace dynamics, audience monetization, and platform economics.
• Track record of delivering measurable business outcomes (revenue, margin, engagement, or audience growth).
• Expertise in structuring and managing strategic partnerships, including scalable operating and governance models.
• Experience leading product delivery , roadmap development, and go-to-market execution.
• Strong understanding of user experience, engagement mechanics, SEO, metadata, and growth optimization.
• Experience managing external vendors, studios, and technology partners.
• Ability to translate user insights into commercially viable products and experiences.
• Comfort operating in agile, experimentation-driven environments.

Preferred Qualifications:

• MBA preferred
• Fluency in internet technology platforms and digital business models
• Experienced negotiator in technology and media deals
• Experience in launching consumer facing businesses/startups