Arianna Huffington, who founded digital media juggernaut the Huffington Post 11 years ago, is stepping down from her post as editor-in-chief to focus on her global health and wellness startup.
Huffington will leave the company in coming weeks to run Thrive Global, a company focused on working with employers to improve the well-being of their staffers, the Wall Street Journal first reported. When the venture secured Series A funding last week, Huffington said it became clear she could not carry on with both ventures.
“I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realized that it really needed my full attention,” she told the Journal. “It is important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived.”
Huffington broke into the health business with a string of books focused on better living. Her latest, “The Sleep Revolution,” was published in April.
The 66-year-old Greek native co-founded Huffington Post in 2005 with Kenneth Lerer, Jonah Peretti, and the late Andrew Breitbart, each of whom went on to become major players in digital media.
