The Atlantic's Jay Lauf Promoted to Senior Vice President/Group Publisher of Atlantic Media Company and Publisher of

In this expanded position, Lauf will remain Publisher of The Atlantic's digital and print products while assuming Atlantic Media Company's top sales and marketing role. His responsibilities will include corporate sales initiatives, strategic partnerships, and advertising revenue oversight for all Atlantic Media brands: The Atlantic and TheAtlantic.com, The Atlantic Wire, The Atlantic Cities, Quartz, National Journal, Government Executive, and Think Custom Media.

A key part of Lauf's new role will be leadership of Quartz's advertising and marketing efforts. Quartz's mission is to serve today's new class of global business leaders—digitally savvy, post-national executives who seek information that will help them better navigate the new global economy. For this ultra-mobile readership, Quartz will provide innovative smartphone and tablet experiences, in addition to the desktop Web.

"Jay is the rarest of talents in media. He has a deep passion for quality journalism and an expert knowledge of how to build media brands and monetize premium audiences in this ever-changing media landscape," said Smith. "It is with great excitement that we welcome Jay to lead our most ambitious new global effort in our history—Quartz—as well as to the highest ranks of our company's leadership."

Lauf joined The Atlantic in April 2008 as Vice President and Publisher, overseeing the publication's sales and marketing efforts. Under his direction, The Atlantic posted its first profit in recent memory in 2010, did so again in 2011, and is on track to set another benchmark for overall revenue and profit in 2012.

Since 2008, Lauf and his team have increased The Atlantic's digital advertising revenue 438 percent, setting new all-time ad revenue highs online, as well as in print. Under Lauf's stewardship, in October 2011, for the first time in The Atlantic's 154-year history, digital ad revenue accounted for more than half of the magazine brand's overall advertising revenue—even with a record-setting month on the print side.

"Our editorial and sales teams have done an amazing job bringing The Atlantic back to a place of both cultural importance and sustained profitability. Its success is the foundation for all we've been able to do with new product launches," said Lauf. "Quartz is our boldest launch to-date, one that, I think, is perfectly timed for the current business epoch. There is a wide-open space for a smart, mobile-first product to serve the needs of global business professionals, and our all-star editorial and dev teams have built that."

Before joining The Atlantic, Lauf was Publisher of Wired, where he served progressively from 2001 to 2008 as Advertising Director, Associate Publisher, and then Publisher. During his tenure at Wired, Lauf was instrumental in the title's reinvigoration following 2001's dot-com collapse, winning Condé Nast's coveted "Top Performance" Award in 2006.