Leadership

Richard Gingras: Chief Executive Officer

Richard Gingras was appointed Chief Executive Officer in May 2009. Prior to joining Salon, he worked as an advisor to various technology startups and also served as an advisor on media product strategy to the executive team at Google from November 2007 through December 2008. From June 2002 through July 2007 he was founder, CEO and Chairman of Goodmail Systems and continued as Chairman through October 2008. From September 2000 through June 2002, he was an advisor to various technology startups including Audiomill (merged into Real Networks, April 2002), technology incubator ChanceTechAV, web applications platform provider Laszlo Systems, custom book publisher MyPublisher, and broadband applications platform developer Sugar Media. From January 1996 through January 1999, he was the founding Vice President, Programming and Editor-in-Chief of @Home Network and following that company's acquisition of Excite became Senior Vice President and General Manager of Excite@Home's consumer portal division through September 2000. In late 1995 he assembled the seed financing for Salon.com and has served as an informal advisor to the company. From September 1993 to January 1996 he was Group Product Manager, Online Services at Apple Computer. From the spring of 1992 through July 1993 he was Group Product Manager at the Peter Norton Computing division of Symantec Corporation. From September 1987 through May 1993 he was Chief Executive Officer of MediaWorks, Inc. Mr. Gingras holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Boston College.

Joan Walsh: Editor in Chief

Joan Walsh is editor in chief of Salon.com, the award-winning Web site. Her work has appeared in many national newspapers and magazines, from the Los Angeles Times and Baltimore Sun to Vogue and the Nation. A columnist for San Francisco Magazine. she won a 2004 Western Magazine Award for her writing about local politics. Before starting at Salon, she worked for many years as a consultant to national and regional foundations, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and California's James Irvine Foundation. She is on the Advisory Board of the University of Maryland's Journalism Fellowships in Child and Family Policy and a member of the board of directors of PolicyLink, an Oakland-based research and advocacy group. An avid baseball fan, she is the author of "Splash Hit: The Pacific Bell Park Story" (Chronicle Books, 2001) as well as "Stories of Renewal: Community Building and the Future of Urban America" (Rockefeller Foundation, 1997). She lives in San Francisco with her daughter, Nora.

Norman Blashka: Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Norman Blashka brings to Salon over 20 years of CFO experience creating shareholder value with public and private media and technology companies, with expertise in start-ups, turnarounds and fundraising. He joins us from Vizible Corp., a web-based visualization software and social networking company, where he most recently served as chief financial officer. Prior thereto, he served as CFO of Operative Media, a venture-backed online advertising operations and software company. As EVP and CFO of 24/7 Real Media, a publicly-traded global digital media company, Blashka helped guide the company through turbulent post-bubble financial conditions, leading its successful turnaround and managing its renewed growth and profitability. He also served in a variety of senior financial and operating positions with established media companies such as Warner Amex Cable and Cablevision Systems Corp., after starting his career in public accounting with Peat Marwick Mitchell and Co.

Norman is a Certified Public Accountant, earned an MBA in finance and accounting from Columbia University, and holds a BA in economics, summa cum laude, from SUNY New Paltz, where he currently sits on the Board of Trustees and chairs its audit committee.

Directors

Deepak Desai has served as a Director of Salon since September 2004. He joined GlobalEnglish Corporation in June 2002 as its Chief Financial Officer and in December 2005 was appointed its President and Chief Executive Officer. From December 2001 to May 2002, Mr. Desai was the interim Chief Financial Officer for Pointcross, Inc., and from July 2001 to October 2001, he was the interim Co-Chief Executive Officer of Yesasia.com Ltd. From August 1999 to June 2001, Mr. Desai was the Chief Financial Officer of Asiacontent.com Ltd. From July 1987 to July 1999, Mr. Desai held various positions with Time Warner, Inc., including General Manager and Chief Financial Officer with Time Life Asia, Associate Business Manager, Financial Manager and Assistant Business Manager with Time Inc. and Senior Auditor with Time Warner Inc. Mr. Desai is a Certified Public Accountant, received a Bachelor of Commerce in Accounting from the University of Bombay, India and an M.B.A. with a Finance emphasis from the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania.

Robert Ellis has served as a Director of Salon since August 2001. He is an advisor, investor, and director of Internet companies. He currently serves on the board of VerticalResponse.com From 1997 through 1999, he was the publisher, board member and early investor of XOOM.com (XMCM) that was merged with the National Broadcasting Company, Inc.'s Internet properties. He formerly served as President of eNature.com, a nature content site on the web. In 1996, he founded and produced Bonjour Paris, a travel destination site in France featured on America Online. Prior to that, he founded and owned Compact Publishing, for which he developed the Time Almanac with Time Magazine. He formerly was a correspondent for Time Magazine. Mr. Ellis holds an M.A. degree in History from the University of Chicago and a B. A. in Philosophy from Yale University.

Elizabeth Hambrecht served as Salon's Chief Executive Officer from February 2005 to September 2007 and Salon's President from October 2003 through September 2007. From May 2003 through February 2005 she also served as Salon's Chief Financial Officer and Secretary. From 1999 to March 2003, she was co-founder and Director of Asiacontent.com, an online media company focused on Asian markets. From 1997 to 2000 she was co-founder, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Boom.com, a Hong Kong-based online stock trading company. From 1992 to 1995 she was Executive Director at Goldman Sachs (Hong Kong) Ltd. From 1987 to 1992 she was Assistant Director at Barings Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd. Ms Hambrecht holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Vassar College. She sits on the Board of Trustees of the San Francisco Friends School, and Northern California Public Broadcasting, a public broadcast company for Northern California.

George Hirsch has served as a Director of Salon since April 2003. Mr. Hirsch is the Chairman of the Board of the U.S. subsidiary of La Cucina Italiana magazine. From 1978 to 1987, he was the founding publisher and president of The Runner magazine at which time it was merged into Runner's World. From 1987 until his retirement in 2004, he held various positions with Rodale, Inc., including Worldwide Publisher of Runner's World, Publishing Director of Men's Health, and Director of International Magazines. In 1973, he was founding publisher of New Times magazine and served as its President through 1979. In 1967, he was the founding publisher of New York magazine and served as its President through 1971. From 1962 through 1967, he held various positions with Time Inc. Mr. Hirsch holds a Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard University and a B.A. in History from Princeton University. He is the Chairman of the Board of the New York City Marathon (New York Roadrunners.)

Robert McKay has served as a Director of Salon since August 2001. He has served as the President of the McKay Family Foundation since its inception in 1992, which supports community-based activist organizations working for long-term social and economic change. Mr. McKay is also the Managing Partner for the McKay Investment Group, which provides venture capital for early-stage technology and consumer product companies. He also serves as a Board member of Ms. Foundation for Women and Mother Jones. Mr. McKay received his B.A. degree in Political Science and Sociology from Occidental College, and his M.A. in Social and Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

James H. Rosenfield has served as a Director of Salon since April 1998. Mr. Rosenfield has been the President of JHR & Associates, a media-consulting firm, since 1998. From 1994 to 1998, Mr. Rosenfield was Managing Director at the investment-banking firm of Veronis Suhler & Associates. From 1987 to 1994, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of John Blair Communications, Inc., a television sales and syndication company. From 1965 to 1985, Mr. Rosenfield held various executive positions at CBS Corporation, a television broadcasting and media company, including Executive Vice President of the Broadcast Group. Mr. Rosenfield holds a B.A. degree in English from Dartmouth College.

David Talbot founded Salon in 1995. He served as Chief Executive Officer from 1995 through April 1999 and again from October 2003 through February 2005. He was the Chairman of the Board from April 1999 through December 2006. He served as Editor-in-Chief from Salon's incorporation in 1995 through February 2005. From 1990 to 1995, Mr. Talbot was the Sunday magazine editor and arts & features editor for the San Francisco Examiner newspaper. Mr. Talbot is the author of the New York Times best-seller, "Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years," recently published by Free Press/Simon & Schuster. Mr. Talbot has written for numerous publications including Time, The New Yorker and Rolling Stone. In July 2007, Mr. Talbot joined Fenton Communications as a Senior Vice President. Mr. Talbot holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

John Warnock has served as a Director of Salon since August 2001 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in December 2006. He was a founder of Adobe Systems and has been its Chairman of the Board since April 1989. Since September 1997, he has shared the position of Adobe Chairman of the Board with Charles M. Geschke. Dr. Warnock served as Chief Executive Officer of Adobe from 1982 through December 2000. Dr. Warnock received a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah. Dr. Warnock served as a Director for Knight Ridder, Inc., a publisher of news and information in digital and hard copy formats, until its sale in June 2006.