Bob Brooks and PrudentMoney.com Joining Digital Media Network TheMaven

Bob Brooks of PrudentMoney.com (Photo: Business Wire)

Bob Brooks of PrudentMoney.com (Photo: Business Wire)

SEATTLE--()--Financial planning analyst, money manager, author and radio talk show host Bob Brooks is moving his online home and quarter-century of money management expertise to the new digital media network, TheMaven (symbol MVEN). Brooks is one of dozens of award-winning journalists, best-selling authors, top analysts, important causes and foundations who are joining TheMaven’s coalition of elite content channels.

Brooks, who is president of Dallas-based Prudent Money Financial Services, has been sharing his money management insights with the world since launching a daily radio talk show in 2002 and then expanding with a weekly newsletter and financially focused online channel, PrudentMoney.com, which is joining TheMaven Network this spring.

“I joined TheMaven’s elite content coalition to expand my audience beyond radio, and teach people about personal finances and stewardship on a much larger, state-of-the-art platform,” Brooks said. “James Heckman and the entire leadership team at TheMaven are proven winners in the world of digital media and information and so I couldn’t pass up on the opportunity to be a founding partner in something we believe will be transformational.”

Heckman, the founder and CEO of TheMaven, noted that Brooks exemplifies the mission of TheMaven. “He’s not just an expert producing content in his field -- he’s passionate about helping people improve their lives. The authenticity from our founding content partners is evident by the loyal following they bring.

“Consumers shouldn’t tolerate algorithmic, commodity-produced content feeds, filled with ‘link-bait,’ ‘ad-farms,’ or intellectually insulting list-gimmicks -- it’s just pure and simple profiteering, not journalism. Bob and our partners are elite thinkers and leaders in their fields and our mission is to improve their ability to connect and engage directly with their audiences in a way that sets a new standard of quality and community,” Heckman added.

TheMaven provides independent publishers an end-to-end business home, where they can continue to distribute on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter but as part of a fully integrated, unified approach.

TheMaven welcomes passionate, market-leading professionals from all sides of the political and spiritual spectrum and in that regard, Brooks represents a unique approach to his work. He encourages listeners to “stay on the road of prudent stewardship” by teaching Biblical principles of money management. His advice encourages people to think for themselves and not just accept the beliefs of what he calls “Pop Culture Finance.”

Brooks also is the author of the book Deceptive Money, a step-by-step guide to eliminating credit card debt. Bob is TheMaven’s third new channel partner operating in the finance category, joining Brad Thomas, who focuses on real estate investment trusts, and Neale Godfrey, who specializes in financial planning for Baby Boomers and Millennials.

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.

Contacts

TheMaven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660

Contacts

TheMaven Network Inc.
Gretchen Bakamis, 206-715-6660