PARIS — Worldcrunch, the pioneering global digital media founded in 2011, has named Anne Dumon as its new CEO, effective March 1. Dumon takes over from Benjamin Sabbah, who has run the Paris-based company since joining in 2019.
Through a 20+-year career, Dumon has held leadership roles in digital media, strategy and online marketing in France, including positions at Twenga, The Paris Tourist Office and Lagardère. Most recently, she was the Chief Operating Officer at Welcome Media, a newsletter business that she helped grow from €600,000 to 7M€ annual revenue. As CEO, she will be responsible for all aspects of Worldcrunch’s business activities, working with co-founder and editor-in-chief Jeff Israely to accelerate revenue growth and partnerships for the media. She will also run commercial activities for Worldcrunch Story Lab, the company’s content studio and communication agency.
During Sabbah’s five-year tenure, Worldcrunch’s turnover doubled on the back of a strategy to reinvest in website audience (+187% UV) and expand the services of Worldcrunch Story Lab (+45% revenue). He also led the successful launch of two major innovative projects, Pix.T and Do-Jo, which aim to leverage transparency and business models in the news industry. He leaves to take up a new opportunity in the international news sector.
JEFF ISRAELY: "We are excited to begin a new chapter at Worldcrunch with Anne at the helm. She brings a wealth of experience across virtually every component of the digital news industry. She is a true business leader and strategic thinker with a proven track record in media innovation, finding hidden opportunities and growing digital revenue. It’s been a great five years with Benjamin, who is an outstanding news industry leader. He took what was still a mostly on-the-fly operation and built Worldcrunch into a solid and strong company fit for the future. He has accelerated financial growth, expanded our global visibility and diversified our business and industry activities. Yet his most important contribution was about values, and his vision from the day he arrived that Worldcrunch must reinvest in its founding mission to deliver high-quality journalism. That’s the business we’re in."
ANNE DUMON: "It is a great opportunity for me to lead Worldcrunch at this exciting moment in the company’s growth, and pivotal moment in the evolution of the news industry. Our unique editorial model of translation and adaptation and licensing partnerships across the world is able to deliver high-quality international journalism at relatively low costs. I hope to continue the expansion and bring new ideas to the challenge of growing both readership and revenue across our diversified activities."
ABOUT WORLDCRUNCH: Founded in 2011 by an American foreign correspondent and a French digital businesswoman, Worldcrunch is an innovative digital media that brings the best international journalism to English readers for the first time. Its unique network of production and licensing services includes international partnerships with Die Welt, Les Echos, Kommersant, The New York Times, Daraj, Initium, El Espectador, and dozens more, as well as original stories on a range of global topics across a dynamic array of digital formats.