TechCrunch's Top Editor Tsotsis Steps Down

Alexia Tsotsis will be stepping down from her high-profile job as co-editor of TechCrunch today. The reason: To do the MSx management masters program at Stanford University’s business school.

According to its website, “the one-year, full-time program is designed specifically for mid-career professionals with at least eight years of work experience and a desire to develop their strengths in general management, leadership and innovation.”

In other words, Alexia is soon going to exhaust me with fancy bidnizz tips. (My basic management tactic at all times: Scream quietly to myself, while smiling calmly and saying all is well.)

When I called her yesterday, she said that she wanted a change from running tech’s arguably largest blog and news site, which is owned by AOL, which is about to be owned by Verizon.

“I am very grateful for all of the support I’ve had from my team and the larger community,” said Tsotsis. “But, as we’re wont to do in life, on to the next one. This has nothing to do with the Verizon deal.”

Thanks for that clarification, Alexia, because I was def going to ask!

In all seriousness, over the years I have really enjoyed my professional and personal relationship with her, and TechCrunch has most definitely grown and improved under her leadership.

Her AOL boss Luke Beatty said Matthew Panzarino would continue as editor — he and Tsotsis have served as co-editors. He declined to say whether there will be more changes under the new rule of the phone company giant, mostly because one should never make such declarations (another management tip!).

“TechCrunch has evolved from more than a blog, becoming an authoritative and accessible site that is available in a broad number of formats,” he said. “We have moved it from a B-to-B site to a B-to-C one that makes tech approachable to a wider audience.”

For those who did not go to business school, that means the normals now like it as much as the geeks.

Tsotsis has been at TechCrunch for five years; this was her first post there. It’s titled: “Why Clicking On Cows Brings Us Closer Together.”

Heh.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?

Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple of big issues with relying on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on:

First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.

Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. And we can’t do that if we have a paywall.

So even though advertising is still our biggest source of revenue, we also seek grants and reader support. (And no matter how our work is funded, we have strict guidelines on editorial independence.)

If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via