Ben Sherwood, former president of Disney ABC Television Group, has been named CEO and publisher at The Daily Beast. Joanna Coles, former chief content officer at Hearst Magazines, was named chief creative and content officer.  

”These are tough times for digital journalism, but the combined experience, expertise and energy of Ben and Joanna have made me an optimist about their ability to make The Beast an enduring and successful enterprise,“ Barry Diller, chairman and senior executive of The Daily Beast parent IAC, said.

Sherwood and Coles get an equity stake equivalent to roughly half of The Daily Beast, reported The New York Times. 

“Timing is everything, and the current media hellstorm feels like the ideal moment to jump back into journalism,” Sherwood said. “Yes, everything feels upside down right now with busted business models and transformative technology. With so much disruption — or maybe because of it — we believe this is the ideal entrepreneurial opportunity to deliver on The Beast’s insurgent promise. We are excited to work with the dynamic team at The Beast, cultivate and recruit great talent, and help unleash its populist potential.”

Sherwood, 60, was founder and CEO of youth sports tech firm Mojo Sports from 2019 to 2023. 

Earlier in his career, he was an executive producer on Good Morning America, then was upped to president of ABC News in late 2010. He took over as co-chairman, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney/ABC Television Group, in 2015, after Anne Sweeney stepped down. 

Tina Brown launched The Daily Beast in 2008 with backing from IAC. It merged with Newsweek in 2010, but IAC sold Newsweek in 2013. 

Sherwood described his new post as a “big and fun new challenge” on LinkedIn. 

Educated at Oxford and Harvard, he is the author of two novels: The Man Who Ate the 747 and The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud.

Disney/ABC Television Group is taking its approach to digital content and analytics to the next level, tapping two top executives in the retail and online communities – former Walmart executive Cindy Davis and AOL veteran John Frelinghuysen -- for newly created roles aimed at beefing up its digital presence.

Both Davis and Frelinghuysen will report to Disney Media Networks co-chairman and Disney/ABC Television Group president Ben Sherwood.

Davis, a long-time Walmart executive, has been named Disney/ABC’s executive vice president, consumer experience, and will be responsible for improving existing research capabilities across multiple platforms and enhancing Disney’s consumer insights and analytic capabilities to support our business strategies.

She also will be responsible for developing an overall consumer experience strategy that will provide greater personalization and product opportunities across platforms, enhance the MVPD ecosystem, support marketing efforts, and inform advertising and other revenue opportunities. Davis will also help define and shape Disney's shift to a more programming services and consumer-centric business model, the company said.

Frelinghuysen was named executive vice president, digital media, strategy and business development, and will oversee all aspects of strategy and business development across Disney/ABC Television’s portfolio of content and brands for digital content, products and technology and all mobile platform efforts. 

He is charged with defining and executing plans to effectively monetize both new and existing short-form and long-form content and distribution across multiple screens and platforms. Frelinghuysen will also work closely with business unit presidents to enable the implementation of their initiatives.

 “These two dynamic new leaders bring considerable talent and experience to Disney/ABC that will help drive our business forward and position us for even greater success,” Sherwood said in a statement. “I’ve asked Cindy to significantly expand our capability to understand our audience and help us use these new insights to improve the consumer experience on all platforms. John’s mission is to define and execute plans to monetize both new and existing content, as well as to harness the power of the collective Disney/ABC portfolio into a more unified and holistic consumer experience.

“We have an incredible team here at Disney/ABC, made up of some of the best and brightest in the industry," Sherwood added. "I’m delighted Cindy and John are joining us, and am confident that they will help lead us to even greater heights.”

Davis most recently served as executive vice president, global customer insights and analytics, for Walmart, a position she had held since 2011. While at Walmart she established a Center of Excellence for Customer Insights & Analytics that integrated sales data, customer surveys, social signals and analytics to predict customer needs and created the Customer Knowledge Platform that became the foundation for understanding customers across channels and serving them seamlessly and relevantly. She also re-introduced Syndicated Data into Walmart and Sam’s Club to provide a marketplace view of customer and competitive behavior, driving significant sales and market share growth.

Prior to her Walmart tenure Davis served as executive vice president, membership, marketing and eCommerce, for Sam’s Club for four years, after a stint as president of global development and communications at direct marketer Rapp Collins Worldwide.

“I can’t imagine a better company to be joining than Disney/ABC Television or a better time to be joining this team,” Davis said in a statement. “Combining a deeper understanding of today’s viewers with its legacy of brilliant storytelling, Disney/ABC is poised to further engage consumers with the entertainment and news they want, when and where they want to enjoy it. I look forward to helping champion the consumers’ voice within Disney/ABC in a way that drives innovation for viewers and value for the business, our distribution partners, and our shareholders.”

Frelinghuysen has more than 20 years’ experience in digital strategy, most recently serving as senior vice president and head of strategy for AOL, a position he held since 2013. Prior to that, he was a partner at management consulting giant Bain & Co., in the Media, Entertainment and Information practice.

From 1987 to 2007, Frelinghuysen worked at Booz Allen Hamilton, the last three years as Lead Partner and Practice Leader, U.S. Media and Entertainment, and participated in the private equity buyouts of Nielsen and Clear Channel Communications. He also worked closely with cable networks like MTV Networks and BET, helping develop growth strategies, driving ratings improvement and boosting marketing and promotions.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Disney/ABC team,” Frelinghuysen said in a statement. “There is an unprecedented opportunity for creating new content experiences and driving revenue growth in digital video. Disney/ABC's global brands and content assets provide an outstanding platform for innovation and realizing the digital opportunity."