ZRG Partners Finds Chief Technology Officer for The Washington Post
August 8, 2023 – ZRG Partners has helped to place Vineet Khosla was the new chief technology officer of The Washington Post. Leading the assignment were managing directors Kevin S. Anderson and Darren Mooney. For the last five years, Mr. Khosla had been a senior engineering leader at Uber. The search firm announced the placement in a recent LinkedIn post: “With a proven track record of innovation in AI and machine learning, Vineet will be joining The Washington Post during a rapidly changing media environment and leading them through their next phase of innovation.”
In this executive leadership role, Mr. Khosla will serve as a senior advisor to the CEO and will lead The Post’s engineering team and innovation strategy, helping to drive the company’s overall vision for its technology goals.
“We are in a rapidly changing media environment and are thrilled to welcome Vineet to The Post at this critical moment,” said Patty Stonesifer, The Post’s interim CEO. “His extensive background in technology, including artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing, makes him an excellent fit to lead The Post through our next phase of innovation. Vineet’s hiring solidifies The Post’s commitment to invest in new technologies that best serve our audiences,” she said. “His career centers on building technology products backed by research and precise design; a specific skill-set that will further establish The Post as a destination for readers daily.”
Strong Experience
Mr. Khosla has nearly 20 years of experience in the technology industry, including being the first engineering hire for Siri’s natural language engine at Apple and managing the maps routing team at Uber. He has been working with artificial intelligence since 2005 after graduating with his master’s degree in AI from the University of Georgia.
“I’m honored to join The Washington Post and am eager to connect with teams across product, engineering, and the newsroom as we work together to drive The Post’s digital endeavors,” said Mr. Khosla. “My goal is to build a transformative user ecosystem that enhances the reader experience and provides opportunities for growth, and I’m excited to be doing so at The Post.”
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Founded in 1877, The Washington Post is a daily newspaper based in Washington, D.C. Its mission “is to connect, inform, and enlighten local, national, and global readers with trustworthy reporting, in-depth analysis and engaging opinions,” according to the newspaper. “The Post is as much a tech company as it is a media company, combining world-class journalism with the latest technology and tools so readers can interact with The Post anytime, anywhere.” The publication is owned by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, who purchased it in 2013 for $250 million.
A Fast-Growing Search Firm
ZRG Partners, founded in 1999, is a progressive mid-sized global executive search firm. With the financial backing of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, ZRG is among the fastest growing firms in the search industry. It provides a full suite of executive, middle-management, and customized search solutions through its offices in North America, Europe, South America, and Asia. The firm finds leaders across a broad spectrum of business markets, including aerospace, consumer, education, healthcare services and solutions, industrial, life sciences, non-profit, private equity and venture capital, and technology.
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Mr. Anderson, who works in ZRG’s Dallas office, is a member of the global technology practice. His focus is in the communications, software, and hardware industries within private equity portfolio companies. Mr. Anderson specializes in board-driven executive searches, including board directors, CEOs, CFOs, and other C-suite executives, as well as private equity investment professionals and operating partners. While his search experience spans a range of technology sectors, Mr. Anderson’s core expertise is in communications, hardware, and software.
Mr. Mooney, based in the U.S. Virgin Islands, joined ZRG in 2022, bringing to the firm 10-plus years of experience working across various industries. His areas of expertise include technology, sales, sports and entertainment, and TV/ film/ digital entertainment. Prior to ZRG, Mr. Mooney served as an executive senior partner at Talentfoot Executive Search, a boutique agency focused on digital marketing, sales, and technology. Before that, he worked at The Washington Post, where he led searches for all executive-level positions and was responsible for global talent acquisition in the areas of PR, HR, and finance as well as digital advertising sales, technology, marketing, and analytics.
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Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media