Semafor appoints Bennett Richardson as General Manager and Global Head of Public Affairs

Semafor has appointed veteran marketing, media, and public affairs leader Bennett Richardson to the role of General Manager and Global Head of Public Affairs, based in Washington, D.C.

In this newly created position, Richardson will be responsible for driving revenue growth in the D.C. market and policy capitals around the world. Reporting to Chief Revenue Officer Rachel Oppenheim, Richardson will spearhead client partnerships and develop strategic initiatives spanning advertising, events, content, and partnerships. His role will be integral to the company’s expansion of its revenue team, which has doubled in size since launch.

As Semafor’s brand continues to ascend in the beltway, with its Washington-focused newsletter, Principals, tripling its subscriber base year-on-year, Richardson will also partner with Semafor’s editorial leadership to drive further investments across its Washington coverage.

“We are poised for unprecedented growth this year, and this role signifies a strategic investment in one of our most promising areas — Washington, D.C. Bennett brings legendary expertise to Semafor and will propel our commercial enterprise to new heights in the beltway and around the world.” — Justin B. Smith, Co-Founder and CEO, Semafor

“In less than two years, Semafor has commanded the attention of world leaders and attracted some of the best editorial and business talent in all of media. I’m thrilled to join Semafor’s leadership team and help build the next great global news and intelligence company. There has never been a more important time to support independent journalism, and Semafor is the perfect partner for purpose-driven brands to engage all of their most important stakeholders.” — Bennett Richardson

Richardson comes to Semafor with over two decades of global experience across media, public affairs, strategic communications, and marketing. He was most recently director of policy marketing at Google, where he led the team responsible for telling Google’s story to policymakers and key opinion formers in the U.S. and around the world. Prior to Google, Richardson spent a decade with Politico in a number of global executive positions, including co-founder of Politico Europe, president of Protocol and executive director of the award-winning Politico Focus brand studio. Richardson was also co-founder and chief marketing officer of the dating brand Hinge.

Semafor was recently named to Fast Company’s annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 for “rewriting the story on international reporting.”

This month, Semafor will produce its biggest live journalism endeavor to date, the 2024 World Economy Summit, the only major media event to be held against the backdrop of the IMF and World Bank meetings. The two-day summit will feature over 100 speakers, including seven cabinet secretaries, 20 Fortune 500 CEOs, and dozens of thought leaders, academics and current and former policymakers, with an expected in-person audience of more than 2,000.