Today we unveil the new Biznology in honor of, and with a tribute to, Haydn Shaughnessy.
Haydn joined JEM’s leadership team as executive editor of Biznology earlier this Spring, overhauling Biznology’s editorial direction and standards, content selection and original reporting across the Biznology brand. He was also set to lead the development and management of our new thought leadership and research practice and Content Studio. Shortly after beginning this new role, Haydn was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed away this past weekend.
Haydn was a well-known and highly respected technology expert and journalist who had written for many major outlets. He was editor of Innovation Management magazine and wrote for the Wall Street Journal, Times, Harvard Business Review, and GigaOm, as well as producing TV for the BBC, Channel 4 and RTE. His co-authored book, The Elastic Enterprise, is considered a must-read for companies that want to succeed in the new era of business. Haydn was also an advisory board member at Crowdsourcing.org, a research fellow and advisory board member at the Center for Digital Transformation at the University of California Irvine, and a senior fellow of the Society for New Communications Research, which is where we first met more than a decade ago. In addition to his great intellect, Haydn was kind, generous, thoughtful and a gentle soul. I will greatly miss him personally and professionally. Arguably even more impressive than his professional credentials are the wonderful tributes and memories that his many friends, family and colleagues are sharing here.
In his very brief tenure as our executive editor, Haydn had a major impact on Biznology. He re-envisioned and greatly elevated the editorial focus, author guidelines and this new design. Just two days after signing his contract, Haydn wrote to me about his vision for Biznology.
Haydn believed that as we enter a post-pandemic era, Biznology could play an important role to “shine a light on how leaders can build back better and discover and adopt new ideas and a deeper commitment to embodying values and purpose to make a real difference in addressing the opportunities and risks we all face.”
I was incredibly honored and excited that Haydn saw so much promise, opportunity and potential for Biznology to play this important editorial role, and I feel extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to work with him again. I had hoped and prayed that he would live to see the culmination of his work. Now, as publisher, I am committed to honoring Haydn by ensuring that we bring his vision for Biznology to life. I am confident that the guidance and leadership he provided during his time as executive editor will have long-term effects and will make Biznology an even more valuable resource for business leaders for many years to come.
I hope you will join me in this new vision for Biznology as active readers, commenters, contributors, sponsors and partners. The new Author Guidelines are here. We welcome your voices and expertise.
Rest in peace, Haydn. You will be greatly missed by many, but your work and your impact will live on.
