James Philip Bankoff (born December 23, 1969) is an American businessman who is the co-founder, chairman, and
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...
(CEO) of
Vox Media
Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 b ...
. He previously worked for AOL and joined Vox Media's predecessor, '' SB Nation'', in 2009.
Early life and education
James Philip Bankoff was born to Marvin and Adrienne Bankoff on December 23, 1969, and raised in
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
Upper Saddle River is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,208, His father owned a jewelry business and his mother worked as an editor. Bankoff developed an interest in media at an early age. He obtained a bachelor's degree in international studies from
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...
. During his senior year, he interned at
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. Bankoff earned his
Master of Business Administration
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...
degree at the
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
.
Career
Early career and AOL
Bankoff initially worked as a production assistant for the
WETA-TV
WETA-TV (channel 26) is the primary PBS member television station in Washington, D.C. Owned by the Greater Washington Educational Telecommunications Association, it is a sister station to NPR member WETA (90.9 FM). The two outlets share stud ...
series ''
Washington Week
''Washington Week''—previously ''Washington Week in Review''—is an American public affairs television program, which has aired on PBS and its predecessor, National Educational Television, since 1967. Unlike other panel discussion shows whic ...
''. He also worked at Ruder Finn's Global Public Affairs group, where he became an account supervisor in 1991. After graduating from Wharton, he declined job offers from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'',
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
, and a record company to join AOL in 1995. In various roles, he worked on projects including AIM, AOL.com, AOL Music,
FanHouse FanHouse was a sports website owned by AOL. Launched in September 2006, FanHouse was considered the Internet's most linked sports blog by aggregator BallHype won Editor & Publisher's 2008 EPpy Award for "Best Sports Blog", and was named as a final ...
,
MapQuest
MapQuest (stylized as mapquest) is an American free online web mapping service. It was launched in 1996 as the first commercial web mapping service. MapQuest vies for market share with competitors such as Google Maps and Here.
History
MapQuest's ...
,
Moviefone
Moviefone is an American-based moving pictures listing and information service. Moviegoers can obtain local showtimes, cinema information, film reviews, and advance tickets, as well as TV content and a comprehensive search tool that allows users ...
, and Netscape. He focused on the company's digital content business, helped the company acquire ''
Engadget
''Engadget'' ( ) is a multilingual technology blog network with daily coverage of gadgets and consumer electronics. ''Engadget'' manages ten blogs four of which are written in English and six have international versions with independent editor ...
'', and was involved in the creation of
TMZ
TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...
.
Bankoff became director of business development for AOL Greenhouse in 1996. He was named vice-president of strategy and operations for the AOL brand in 1998, and oversaw business strategy, category management, and content acquisition. He also directed AOL Music and AOL Plus. Following the merger of AOL and Netscape, Bankoff became president of Netscape in 2001. He was responsible for business operations and the growth of Netscape.com and Netbusiness. He then served as president of AOL Web Properties, managing AIM, CompuServe, ICQ, MapQuest, Moviefone, and Netscape.
Bankoff held the role of executive vice-president of programming and products from 2002. Bankoff left AOL in late 2006, working as a consultant for ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
As an angel investor for ''SB Nation'', Bankoff led the company's first round of financing. He became its chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) in January 2009. He expanded ''SB Nation''s network and number of writers. In November 2011, Bankoff co-founded
Vox Media
Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 b ...
as the parent company for ''SB Nation'' and ''
The Verge
''The Verge'' is an American technology news website operated by Vox Media, publishing news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, consumer electronics news, and podcasts.
The website launched on November 1, 2011, and uses Vox Media ...
''. As Vox Media's chairman and CEO, Bankoff pursued growing the company through acquisitions. He oversees the company's media brands.
Accolades
In 2015, Bankoff was included in '' Washingtonian'' list of the "100 Top Tech Leaders" in Washington, D.C., and ranked number 18 on ''
Business Insider
''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German pub ...
'' "Silicon Alley 100" list of the "coolest, most inspiring people in the New York tech industry". He was also included in ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' list of "The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media" in 2016. Bankoff ranked number 67 on
Mediaite
Mediaite is a news website focusing on politics and the media.Howard PolskinHow the Washington Examiner became a traffic monster ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (May 15, 2020). Founded by Dan Abrams, it is part of the Abrams Media Network.
Conte ...
's list of the most influential figures in media in 2017.
Personal life
Bankoff and Diane Elson, who founded the rug design company Elson&Company in 1998, married on April 26, 2003. Bankoff is a fan of the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...