EIC Michael Caruso To Exit 'Smithsonian' Magazine, Steib Named 'Artsy' CEO

In a memo yesterday, Carol LeBlanc, president of Smithsonian Enterprises, announced that Smithsonian magazine’s editor in chief Michael Caruso will leave his post at the end of the month. Caruso is also the organization’s vice president of live events.

Caruso, who has been with the Smithsonian for seven years, led the magazine to be a finalist for four National Magazine Awards, while also overseeing Smithsonian.com,Air & and Space magazine and Smithsonian Books.

“Michael is widely respected for his creativity, integrity, wit and passion. He has been in the forefront in bringing the Smithsonian to new audiences and has built a world-class team at Smithsonian Enterprises,” LeBlanc wrote.

Following Caruson’s departure, deputy editor Terence Monmaney, art director Maria Keehan and director of editorial operations Debra Rosenberg will continue to lead operations at the title.

Under Caruso’s leadership, the magazine published writers like Susan Orlean, Ian Frazier, William Vollman, Jane Smiley and Jesmyn Ward. In his role as vice president of live events, he created a slew of signature events that include the American Ingenuity Awards—now in its eighth year, the Smithsonian Ingenuity Festival and Future Con.

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Separately, Artsy has named Mike Steib its Chief Executive Officer.

Steib comes to Artsy after serving as CEO of XO Group Inc., parent company of The Knot. In his role with Artsy, Steib will oversee day-to-day management of the platform and the company’s overall strategy.

Steib increased XO Group Inc.’s equity value by 350% over his five-year tenure.

As Steib takes on his new role, Arsty’s founder Carter Cleveland will move into the newly created role of executive chairman of business.

“Mike has grown businesses to over a billion dollars in revenue and managed teams of almost 1,000 people across multiple geographies,” Cleveland stated.

“Under Mike’s leadership as CEO of The Knot, the business better monetized their traffic by evolving from a media destination into a two-sided marketplace, achieved 95% aided brand awareness in the U.S., and more than tripled the value of their business in five years.”

Steib has also held roles at Google, Vente-Privee USA, NBC Universal and McKinsey & Company. He serves on the board of Ally Financial and as chairman emeritus of the nonprofit Literacy Partners.

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