NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BuzzFeed, the leading tech-powered media company for digital content and commerce for millennial and Gen Z audiences, today announced that Joan Amble has joined its Board of Directors as Audit Chair. Amble, who previously served as Executive Vice President, Finance, and Comptroller for American Express, will bring decades of finance, accounting and public company experience to BuzzFeed’s Board of Directors and help BuzzFeed navigate a new period of growth as a public company.
BuzzFeed announced on June 24, 2021, that it will merge with 890 5th Avenue Partners, Inc., ($ENFA) a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), to become a publicly traded company. As part of the transaction, BuzzFeed has entered into an agreement to acquire Complex Networks, a leading global youth network with unparalleled engagement among millennials and Gen Z. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 2021.
“As BuzzFeed enters its next chapter as a public company, we are thrilled to welcome Joan to our Board,” said BuzzFeed’s Founder and CEO Jonah Peretti. “Her appointment is a reflection of the company’s ongoing commitment to financial discipline as we invest in new opportunities to drive value for our audience, our shareholders, and the digital media industry at large.”
Amble has a storied career in finance, most recently serving as Executive Vice President, Finance, and Comptroller for the American Express Company, where she was responsible for all controllership finance functions, including oversight of the company’s global reporting, financial controls, SOX compliance, finance operational risk, technical accounting and M&A advisory functions.
Prior to holding senior leadership roles at the American Express Company from 2003 to 2011, Amble served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of GE Capital Markets, a service business within the General Electric Company, overseeing securitizations, debt placement, and syndication, as well as structured equity transactions. From 1994 to 2003, Amble served as Vice President and Controller for GE Capital Markets and GE Financial Services, Inc. Amble also served as non-executive director of Broadcom Corp. from 2009 to 2011 and Brown-Forman Corporation from 2011 to June 2016.
“I’m excited to join the company at a pivotal moment in its continued growth story. After achieving profitability in 2020, acquiring HuffPost and more recently signing an agreement to purchase Complex Networks as part of its plans to become a public company, BuzzFeed is creating a new model for a modern digital media company,” said Amble. “BuzzFeed is seizing new opportunities from a position of strength, and I look forward to utilizing my financial background for the benefit of the business.”
Amble brings extensive experience in corporate governance to BuzzFeed’s Board of Directors. Amble has served on the Board of Directors of Zurich Insurance Group AG since April 2015, and on Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.’s Board of Directors since 2012. Joan also served on the board of Sirius XM Holdings Inc. from 2006 through June 2021. In addition, she has served as an independent advisor to the Control and Risk Committee of the Executive Committee of the U.S. affiliate of Société Générale S.A. since October 2016. Amble was a member of the Standing Advisory Group for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) from 2014 to 2020, and she was a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC) from 2007 through 2011. She is the president of JCA Consulting, LLC.
Throughout her career, Amble has been an advocate for the professional development of women in business. Amble is the co-founder of W.O.M.E.N. in America, a leadership program launched in the fall of 2009.
Amble holds a B.A. degree in Accounting from The Pennsylvania State University and is based in Connecticut.
About BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed is the world's leading tech-powered, diversified media company that reaches hundreds of millions globally through its cross-platform news and entertainment network. The company produces articles, lists, quizzes, videos, and original series; lifestyle content through brands including Tasty, the world's largest social food network; original reporting and investigative journalism through BuzzFeed News and HuffPost; an industry-leading affiliate business, strategic partnerships, licensing and product development through BuzzFeed Commerce; and original productions across broadcast, cable, SVOD, film and digital platforms for BuzzFeed Studios.
