SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TheMaven Network’s growing coalition of independent journalists is expanding into defense, intelligence and foreign affairs with the addition of Bryan Suits, a radio talk-show host, Fox Business regular and decorated combat veteran whose cutting-edge information and analyses offer unparalleled insight into events around the globe.
“TheMaven is the advanced platform I’ve been waiting for,” said Suits, who is a mainstay on Los Angeles’ KFI Radio, the most-listened-to station in America. “I’ll now be able to seamlessly blend my work as a reporter and analyst with my podcast and social media following.”
“TheMaven reflects how the world of communication has evolved in the way we use social media and smartphones to consume, share and create. My program on TheMaven will bridge professional analysis with group interaction on a platform for the modern age.” Expanding on the “Dark Secret Place” brand that he has built at KFI Radio, Suits plans to launch his own channel on TheMaven (symbol MVEN) in April.
Suits’ ability to quickly gather and analyze intelligence from war zones and conflicts around the world has been praised by an array of special operations forces personnel and he has become a sought-after analyst by major media outlets. His predictive analyses of events in Syria, Libya and Yemen, among other places, have proven spot on. He uses a combination of high-tech social media filtering and traditional sources around the globe to secure real-time information.
“Consumers have become the targets of unapologetic, link-bait profiteering instead of actual journalism. So we’re focused on building a coalition of elite, authentic, independent media reporters, analysts and conversation leaders,” said James Heckman, CEO and founder of TheMaven. “With this goal in mind, Bryan works only in facts, his information-gathering skills are extraordinary, and he possesses a unique ability to analyze events and share his insights in a clear, powerful way. He’s also downright witty and entertaining to listen to.”
Suits is a decorated combat veteran who served our nation in three conflicts: Desert Storm, Bosnia, and Iraqi Freedom and was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart while serving in Iraq. He began broadcasting on KFI in Los Angeles in 2007 following previous stops in San Diego, Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City.
TheMaven is an expert-driven, group media network whose state-of-the-art platform serves, by invitation-only, professional, independent channel partners. By providing broader distribution, greater community engagement, and efficient advertising and membership programs, TheMaven enables partners to focus on the key ingredients to their business: creating, informing, sharing, discovering, leading and interacting with the communities and constituencies they serve.
TheMaven Network will launch this quarter in beta as channel partner signings continue to be announced. For more information, visit themaven.net.
Based in Seattle, TheMaven is publicly traded in the OTC Markets Group, under the ticker symbol MVEN. Key members of the team include:
Founder and CEO James Heckman has extensive experience in digital media, advertising, video and online communities for major public companies and several times as founder. He served as Head of Global Media Strategy for Yahoo!, leading all significant transactions and revenue strategy under Ross Levinsohn’s tenure. As Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Digital, he architected the market-changing, $900 million social media ad alliance between Google and Myspace and was instrumental in Hulu’s formation. Prior to Yahoo!, Mr. Heckman was founder/CEO of 5to1.com (sold to Yahoo!), CSO of Zazzle.com, Founder/CEO of Scout.com (sold to Fox), Founder/CEO of Rivals.com and Rivals.net (sold to Yahoo!, post tenure and 365-Sports, respectively) and held the position of President and Publisher of NFL Exclusive, official publication for every NFL team. Heckman holds a BA in Communications from the University of Washington.
Co-founder and COO, William Sornsin ran MSN's Core Technology team before joining Rivals as co-founder and CTO in 1999, co-founded Scout.com as CTO/COO; was VP Engineering & Operations at Fox Interactive Media after Scout acquisition. Earlier, Sornsin held a variety of product and program management roles at Microsoft. He holds a BS Electrical/Computer Engineering from the University of Iowa and an MBA from UCLA.
Co-founder and CTO Benjamin Joldersma’s career spans nearly two decades of large-scale platform development, including CTO and chief architect of Scout.com. Ben held the role of Senior software engineer, Geo/Imagery at Google, a Principal Software Engineer at Yahoo!, Chief Architect at 5to1 and held senior engineering roles at aQuantive, Rivals.com and Microsoft. Ben studied Computer Science at University of Puget Sound.
Director, Ross Levinsohn is a leading industry figure who has long focused on the convergence of technology and media. He served as CEO at Yahoo in 2012 and prior to that role was Executive Vice President, Americas and Head of Global Media from 2010 to 2012. Levinsohn served as President of Fox Interactive where he helped create one of the largest digital businesses amongst the traditional media companies, and was instrumental in the formation of what is now Hulu. He serves on several public and private media and technology boards, including Tribune Media, mobile advertising marketplace YieldMo, Vubiquity, Zefr, and the National Association of Television Program Executives. He was Executive Chairman and Director of Scout Media, Inc. from 2014-2016, previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Guggenheim Digital Media and co-founded 5to1 Holding Corp, serving as its Executive Chairman. He co-founded Fuse Capital in 2005 and served as its Managing Director and Managing Partner. He served as General Manager at AltaVista Network and Vice President of Programming and Executive Producer at CBS Sportsline. Mr. Levinsohn received a BA in Broadcast Communications from American University, and is a trustee there.
