• by Melynda Fuller , September 20, 2019

Participant media company Active Interest Media announced this week that Pete Sheinbaum has been tapped as its senior vice president of digital media.

Sheinbaum will lead growth across AIM’s digital audience, products and membership. He will be actively involved with new marketing, editorial and membership initiatives.

Prior to his arrival at AIM, Sheinbaum founded WorkInProgress, a Boulder-based full-service advertising firm in which he was a partner. He also served as founder-CEO of LinkSmart and CEO of DailyCandy, Inc.

“As a successful entrepreneur, Pete has a deep understanding of business formation and how to scale businesses, digital strategy, management, operations and finance,” says Andy Clurman, president-CEO of Active Interest Media.

Separately, BuzzFeed has tapped Katie Sitter to serve as its new senior vice president, people, effective September 30.

Sitter joins the digital media company at a transitional time.

She will manage the company’s people team and oversee strategic initiatives related to organizational planning, talent acquisition, learning and development, performance management, diversity and labor relations. 

Prior to BuzzFeed, Sitter worked with interactive entertainment company Activision Blizzard as its vice president of HR. She also spent over a decade at Deloitte serving in multiple HR-related roles.

Chief Financial and Administrative Officer Eric Muhlheim stated of Sitter’s hire: “Coming from a leading interactive entertainment company like Activision Blizzard, Katie is uniquely qualified to bring her expertise in both operational infrastructure and innovation to our People team and support our growing business in an ever-evolving media landscape.” 

Earlier this year BuzzFeed founder-CEO Jonah Peretti announced the company would look to bolster its ecommerce and licensing businesses after laying off 15% of its staff.

This week, Axios reported BuzzFeed is searching for a new president as it looks beyond just advertising revenue towards brand consulting, events and studios, in addition to content licensing and ecommerce. The company has been without a president since 2017.