Content Matters

Earlier this week, Internet pioneer Susan Strausberg stepped down as Chairman and CEO of EDGAR Online.

Strausberg, a visionary who had led EDGAR Online since its launch twelve years ago, was well-liked and admired in the content industry.  Susan was early to see the opportunity to leverage the then-nascent web for delivery of content.  Along with husband Marc, Strausberg helped steer the Company through evolving business models and the turbulent dot-com collapse.  Through effective licensing deals, EDGAR Online quickly developed a strong brand in consumer finance.  They later adapted their offerings to the institutional market, and were leaders in embracing and advancing the XBRL markup language.

Strausberg will be replaced as CEO by Philip Moyer, whom she had brought into the Company just a few months ago.  Moyer, with no previous experience in the content industry, spent 15 years at Microsoft, where he had begun as a systems engineer.  His most recent role at Microsoft was as General Manager for the Professional Services industry.  Just prior to joining EDGAR, Moyer served as Entrepreneur in Residence for Safeguard Scientific.  It will be interesting to see in what direction he takes the Company, as the content business is a very different place than packaged software.

There are few dot-com CEO’s who have been able to navigate the peaks and valleys of the past decade successfully.  Susan’s stepping down signals the end of an era in some ways.  I wish her well in whatever she chooses to tackle next.