• by Tony Silber , February 16, 2022

InPickleball, the magazine for the pickleball playing-and-lifestyle community, has named Isabel Burton editor in chief. Burton comes to the 2021 startup magazine from Shape, where she was executive editor. She’s tasked with leading an editorial expansion for the overall InPickleball media enterprise.

Launched in September, InPickleball brings together the community around this fast-growing sport with a print magazine, in-depth features both in print and online, as well as an active social-media presence

Over the first three issues, the magazine’s circulation has grown from 30,000 to 50,000. The brand is teamed with the Amateur Athletic Union, the U.S. youth sports and Olympic launching pad, to support the growth of youth pickleball and the game’s potential future as an Olympic sport.

“The game of pickleball embodies much of what I’ve spent my career helping to advance, in that it’s healthy physically, emotionally and socially,” Burton said. “But more than a fun activity, it’s proving to be a movement. The sport is driving a collective enthusiasm and sense of connectedness that we all crave, these days especially, which accounts for its astounding growth in popularity over the recent past. I’m psyched for what we can build.”

Burton has held top editorial posts at such iconic magazine brands as Shape, Self and Cosmopolitan. At InPickleball she joins a team of media veterans, including Creative Director J Armus and President Richard Porter.

“Isabel is adept at building a business as well as an audience,” Porter said. “True to our brand, she comes at the subject from the greatest common denominator – the joy of participation.

Meanwhile, Observer Media, the New York City-based online publishing company, has appointed Jack Fordi as the company's first-ever chief revenue officer, and Staisey Divorski as vice president of marketing.

Observer Media’s brands include Observer and Commercial Observer, and the information platform including RealGraph. It was founded and formerly led by former White House Advisor Jared Kushner.

Fordi is charged with all things revenue-related, including diversification and growth, deepening client relationships, and leading revenue operations and platform partnerships across the company. He joins Observer Media with over 20 years of experience in digital media, events, SaaS, subscription and platform sales. Fordi was previously senior vice president at Questex, a B2B business information company.

Divorski will oversee a broad portfolio, including sales, product and membership marketing, branding, corporate communications, and audience data and insights. She joins Observer Media with over a decade of experience developing transformational programs for high-growth media and technology companies, including Spectrio, one of the nation's leading digital signage software companies.