After five years on the job, today is Josh Albertson’s last day as CEO of Inman. Tomorrow, as previously announced, Emily Paquette takes over as the company’s CEO. Earlier today, Albertson posted his farewell message on LinkedIn. We are sharing it here.
Statement from Josh Albertson:
After five terrific years, today is my last day at Inman. I’m thrilled to hand the reins to Emily Paquette, who is going to make a fantastic CEO, and grateful to the inimitable Brad Inman for the opportunity to run this great brand he built.
We’ve kept a low profile outside of real estate, but Inman has become a paragon of the modern media company, with a shining subscription business, thriving events, and an electric community. We drive news cycles, shape careers, and make powerful connections.
It’s easy to say that subscriptions are the answer for digital media companies, harder to make it so. But we’ve managed to attract, retain, and expand an enviable list of paid subscribers, year after year, in good markets and bad. There are no shortcuts. They subscribe because we have the best newsroom in the industry and we help our audience do their jobs better.
This embrace of paid readership has only strengthened our advertising business, which has exploded over the last five years. As real estate has evolved — technological advances, new business models, a flood of venture funding — we have worked hard to stay ahead of our customers’ needs and to give them modern, creative solutions to meet those needs. The return on their investment starts with a deep connection to our vibrant, vital community.
That power of connection is also what fuels our events, a magical blend of classroom, marketplace, and carnival. The pandemic challenged the model, for sure. But we moved the party online, creating a digital event series that brought light into the dark and continues to surprise. And this month in New York, we were back in-person with our flagship Inman Connect, a joyous show with thousands of attendees, a bustling exhibition floor, and hundreds of all-star speakers.
The output of all of this great work is a P&L that I would print, frame, and mount on my wall if it was socially acceptable.
I’m thankful for the amazing colleagues who make this happen, a mix of old and new friends I’d stack up against any team in the business. It’s a tight group, and I will miss them. I’m excited for what they’ll accomplish next, bolstered by our sharp new partners at Beringer, who acquired the company last year and I know will continue to invest in what makes Inman special.
As for my next project, I’m going to take all that I’ve learned in my two-plus decades in media — at Inman, Gawker, Vox, Curbed, Eater, Racked…all the way back to The Brown Daily Herald — and I’m going to do something very big. Until then.