Troy Young

Troy Young is the former president of Hearst Magazines, who led the division's digital transformation before resigning in July 2020 following a New York Times investigation into workplace-culture allegations.

Based in New York, NY Org Hearst Magazines (former) Role Former President

Notable work and positions

Hearst Magazines — former President (2018–2020)
Hearst Magazines Digital Media — former President (2013–2018)
Say Media — former President
Organic (Omnicom) — former Chief Experience Officer
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) — former Board Chairman

Biography

Troy Young was president of Hearst Magazines, the division of Hearst that publishes titles including Cosmopolitan, Elle, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire, Town & Country and Marie Claire, from July 2018 until his resignation in July 2020. Before joining Hearst, Young held several executive roles at the Omnicom digital agency Organic, including chief experience officer, where he worked on campaigns for clients such as American Express, Virgin Mobile, Sirius XM, Chrysler and Bank of America, and later served as president of Say Media, a web publisher whose properties included xoJane and ReadWrite. Hearst hired Young in 2013 as president of Hearst Magazines Digital Media, a newly created role in which he restructured the division's digital operations, establishing digital editorial teams for each magazine brand that reported to him rather than to each title's print editor-in-chief, and building MediaOS, a proprietary content-management and ad-sales platform used across Hearst's brands. Under his leadership, Hearst Magazines' online properties grew from about 63 million monthly unique visitors in 2013 to roughly 108 million by 2018.

In July 2018, Hearst president and CEO Steven R. Swartz named Young president of Hearst Magazines, succeeding David Carey and putting him in charge of a division spanning more than 300 print editions and 240 digital brands worldwide. In that role, Young continued to expand the authority of digital editors within the company, and digital editors with comparatively lower salaries replaced a number of veteran print editors. Young also served on the boards of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, becoming chairman in February 2020 after serving as vice chairman since 2019, and Digital Content Next.

On July 22, 2020, The New York Times published an investigation, based on interviews with current and former Hearst employees, describing what it characterized as a toxic workplace culture at Hearst Magazines and detailing specific allegations against Young, including that he had emailed pornography to a former Esquire editor, made a crude remark after picking up a sex toy during a visit to Cosmopolitan's office, and asked a then-pregnant former Cosmopolitan editor, Michelle Ruiz, who spoke on the record, whether a baby was his. The Times also reported that Hearst had promoted Young to president in 2018 despite at least four employees having previously reported allegations of bullying or harassing behavior to human resources or senior executives. In a statement to the Times before publication, Young said the allegations from his “detractors” were “either untrue, greatly exaggerated or taken out of context,” while acknowledging regret over the toll his approach had taken on some employees. Hearst CEO Steven Swartz announced Young's resignation the following evening, July 23, 2020, in a one-sentence memo to staff. In a separate note to Hearst employees, Young apologized to female colleagues, writing that the incidents described in the Times article “do not represent who I am as a person” and that he was “sorry and committed to the work” he needed to do. His resignation came amid a broader wave of media-industry executive departures in 2020 following workplace-culture allegations, including at Bon Appétit and Refinery29.

Career highlights

1. Hearst Magazines Digital Media restructuring, 2013–2018Built the division's digital-first operating structure and MediaOS platform, growing monthly unique visitors from about 63 million to roughly 108 million.

2. President of Hearst Magazines, 2018–2020Led a global division of more than 300 print editions and 240 digital brands before resigning amid a New York Times investigation into workplace-conduct allegations.

3. Interactive Advertising Bureau board chairman, 2020Elected chairman of the IAB board in February 2020 after serving as vice chairman since 2019; also served on the board of Digital Content Next.