Longtime L.A. tech executive Ross Levinsohn has been named chief executive of Guggenheim Digital Media, the new parent company of the Hollywood Reporter.
Private equity firm Guggenheim Partners announced Tuesday that it has acquired Prometheus Global Media, Hollywood Reporter’s parent company, and changed the name to Guggenheim Digital Media. Guggenheim had previously co-owned Prometheus with Pluribus Capital. Guggenheim Partners also is the lead investor in the group that owns the Dodgers.
In this new role, Levinsohn will oversee Guggenheim’s properties, including the Hollywood Reporter, Billboard and Adweek, in addition to acquiring and investing in new media properties.
“I am excited to be part of the dynamic Guggenheim family of companies,” Levinsohn said in a statement. “Guggenheim Digital Media has a powerful and competitive portfolio of iconic media assets today, and I look forward to identifying new opportunities for growth as the media and technology industry continues to rapidly evolve.”
Levinsohn has a long history in the Los Angeles tech community. He was an executive with News Corp. for a number of years and was instrumental in developing the business plan for what would later become Fox Interactive Media. He then led that division as president from 2005-2006.
During his time at News Corp., Levinsohn was behind a number of the firm’s first digital media acquisitions, including its purchase of MySpace Inc. for $580 million in 2005.
Levinsohn was also executive vice president of Americas for Yahoo from 2010 to 2012. Although the struggling Internet company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, Levinsohn remained based out of its Santa Monica office.
In 2012, Levinsohn was promoted to interim chief executive of Yahoo. He was considered a top candidate to replace former Chief Executive Scott Thompson but was passed over for Google executive Marissa Mayer in July last year.
Levisohn has also been active as an investor and mentor in the L.A. technology community. He was named to the board of Venice video startup ZEFR in November last year.
At the time, ZEFR co-founder Zach James told AllThingD, “Ross is a perfect intersection of everything we are in media and technology. He understands both sides natively, and we need that kind of expertise.”
