Future appoints Eric Harris as Chief Operating Officer

Future Plc, the global platform for specialist media, today announced the appointment of Eric Harris as Chief Operating Officer. Building on over 20 years of experience in media and business operations, Eric will work closely with the leadership team to execute Future’s strategy and help drive growth, especially within North America.

Eric will join Future on 1 May and will be based in the New York office. Prior to joining Future, Eric was Chief Operating Officer at Altice’s News and Advertising division and the President & COO of Cheddar News. Eric also spent seven years at BuzzFeed; he started as the seventh employee and left as the Chief Business Operations Officer running all business operations.
As Chief Operating Officer at Future, Eric will be responsible for leading Commercial Operations and Business Intelligence, alongside People, Facilities and Communications teams. He will also act as a Chief of Staff to the company’s wider executive leadership team.

Jon Steinberg, Chief Executive Officer of Future, said: “I am delighted to have Eric join Future at such an exciting time. I have had the pleasure of working with Eric for 10 years across BuzzFeed, Cheddar, and Altice; and his operational and media expertise will be invaluable as we further build on Future’s market-leading position. Eric will play a central role in delivering on our strategy and I am confident that with Eric, Future will continue to excel.”

Eric Harris, Chief Operating Officer of Future said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Future team harnessing the opportunity in the U.K. and U.S. in particular. Future’s unique position in the media landscape, coupled with the depth of talent throughout the organisation, makes it an incredibly exciting opportunity and I cannot wait to get started.”

Alongside the appointment of Eric, Future’s long-standing Chief Technology Officer, Kevin Li Ying will take on an expanded role. Kevin will assume responsibility for Future products including, Email CRM Operations, MarketForce, Editorial Operations, Subscription Operations. This change will ensure greater alignment and efficiency at Future and is evidence of Kevin’s leadership and expertise in building Future’s market-leading technology stack.

Jon Steinberg added: “I am also delighted that Kevin will be taking on an expanded role, which is testament to his leadership skills and operational expertise. Kevin’s vision in developing Future’s innovative tech stack has been crucial to Future’s success and his new remit will further support the delivery of our future ambitions.”