BUZZFEED, INC. (BZFD) NAMES MELANIE SUMMERS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS UNDER NEW UNIFIED BUSINESS ORGANIZATION
New York, NY – January 21, 2022 – BuzzFeed, Inc. (NASDAQ: BZFD), a premier digital media company for the most diverse, most online, and most socially engaged generation the world has ever seen, today named Melanie Summers, Senior Vice President of Consumer Products. Summers joins BuzzFeed, Inc.’s new unified business organization and will report to Nilla Ali, Executive Vice President of Commerce.
Summers will lead all of BuzzFeed, Inc.’s global brand licensing and product development, including Complex Networks’ licensing operations. Leveraging commerce data from Buzzfeed Shopping and Tasty Shoppable Recipes, Summers will create partnerships that expand BuzzFeed, Inc.’s overall licensing activity beyond traditional channels and further into emerging technology, content, experiential, retail, consumer products, and more.
“BuzzFeed, Inc. is home to iconic brands with massive, loyal audiences. I’m excited to create new opportunities that pioneer the future of brand licensing and bring these brands into new realms,” said Summers. “There is a massive opportunity to create an ecosystem of BuzzFeed, Inc. experiences beyond the traditional thinking of digital media, and I’m excited to forge the way.”
Summers joins BuzzFeed, Inc. with decades of experience in brand licensing and strategy. She most recently served as Chief Brand Officer for Driver Studios, an award-winning production studio specializing in kids and family entertainment. Summers was also the Vice President of the Emeril Brand at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and spent the majority of her career at Viacom where she held various licensing and business development roles for MTV and Nickelodeon.
BuzzFeed, Inc.’s licensing business is a modern take on a historically traditional business, which extends the company’s hit viral content into real life products, giving its audience new ways to engage with its iconic brands. From the award-winning Tasty kitchenware line at Walmart to BuzzFeed & Bellessa branded sex toys, BuzzFeed, Inc. is pioneering the way for media companies to license their brand while also driving innovation in consumer products.
About BuzzFeed, Inc.
BuzzFeed, Inc. is home to the best of the Internet. Across food, news, pop culture and commerce, our brands drive conversation and inspire what audiences watch, read, buy, and obsess over next. Born on the Internet in 2006, BuzzFeed, Inc. is committed to making it better: providing trusted, quality, brand-safe news and entertainment to hundreds of millions of people; making content on the Internet more inclusive, empathetic, and creative; and inspiring our audience to live better lives. We'll continue to recruit the best founders and creators to join us in this mission, with more additions like Complex Networks and HuffPost to come.
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Contacts
Media Contacts
Shira Mahler: shira.mahler@buzzfeed.com
Investor Relations
Amita Tomkoria, BuzzFeed: ir@buzzfeed.com
