Scott Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Publish2, Inc. He is also Editor & Publisher of Publishing 2.0, a widely-read and respected blog that takes an incisive look at how technology is transforming media. Folio: magazine named Scott one of the 40 most influential people in publishing for 2007.
Scott was previously the Director of Digital Strategy for Atlantic Media, publisher of The Atlantic. Before joining Atlantic Media, he was a consultant with the D.C. strategic research firm, The Advisory Board.
Robert Young is the co-founder & Executive Chairman of Publish2, Inc. Robert is an entrepreneur, market disruptor, and dealmaker. His career as a disruptor began when he played an instrumental role in launching the first nationwide consumer ISP, which he sold to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. (negotiating the first M&A deal between an Internet company and a traditional media giant). Robert then proceeded to disrupt Madison Ave by launching the first company to be based solely on Internet advertising, where he also invented “Pay-Per-Click” advertising, organized the industry’s first Internet ad sales force, and invented “free e-mail.” Robert also ran one of the largest consumer online (social networking) communities on the web.
Robert is a widely-read blogger who has written for GigaOM, ZDNet, and can now be found at Publishing 2.0.
Howard Weaver served as Vice President, News at The McClatchy Company from 2001-2009, capping a 30-year tenure with the company. In that position he was the chief news executive overseeing 30 daily and more than 50 weekly newspapers, extensive digital and web properties and reporters working in Washington and around the globe. He served in a variety of posts with McClatchy, including editor of the Anchorage Daily News and as editor of the editorial pages at The Sacramento Bee. Howard is a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and has six times served as a Pulitzer Prize juror. He also serves on the Board of Visitors of the Knight Fellowships at Stanford.
Howard twice led the Anchorage Daily News to Pulitzer Prizes; he wrote the stories for which the paper won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service, and was editor and a lead writer on the project for which the paper again won the prize in 1989. He was one of three reporters whose coverage of the Alaska Teamsters Union during construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline won the award in 1976. In 1989, the paper won for its coverage of alcoholism and suicide among Alaska Natives. Howard blogs on journalism atEtaoin Shrdlu and other topics at Quantum Dice; his Twitterstream is @howardweaver.
Kurt Johnson has over twenty-four years of professional management experience, including public and private company leadership, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, recapitalizations, and venture stage investing. During his career, Kurt has completed transactions with aggregate value of over $1.1 billion.
Kurt is currently active as an angel investor and Board member for Internet and technology-based companies.
Previously, Kurt was President and CEO of Fastclick (NASDAQ: FSTC). During Kurt’s leadership of the organization, he tripled Fastclick’s revenue to $85 million, completed a $75 million private placement offering and a $78 million IPO. Kurt then successfully orchestrated the sale of Fastclick to ValueClick in September of 2005, achieving a $285 million valuation.
Prior to joining Fastclick, Kurt was the CFO for ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: VCLK). At ValueClick, Kurt was instrumental in the company’s growth from an early-stage enterprise to a $500 million international media technology company. Specifically, he led the company through its $76 million IPO, negotiated and closed on the company’s $85 million strategic investment from DoubleClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: DCLK), and facilitated the $26 million IPO of ValueClick Japan. Additionally, Kurt helped execute the company’s growth through acquisition strategy by completing six M&A transactions, including the acquisitions of Mediaplex, Inc. (NASDAQ: MPLX) and Be Free, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFRE).
