Arianna Huffington steps down as Huffington Post editor-in-chief

Huffington co-founded the publication 11 years ago

Millionaire and news entrepreneur Arianna Huffington (Getty Images)

Arianna Huffington is stepping down as Editor-in-Chief of Huffington Post.

The business woman has said she is leaving the post to concentrate on her new health and wellbeing venture, Thrive Global.

Announcing the move on Twitter, Ms Huffington said she is "filled with gratitude" for her colleagues at the media outlet.

The Greek-American writer, who is 66 years old, launched the Huffington Post in 2005 and soon became one of the most senior and prominent women in the media. The media outlet was acquired by AOL for $315 million in 2011.

She was recently listed by Forbes magazine as one of the most powerful women in the world.

In June of this year, details emerged of Ms Huffington's new venture Thrive Global. The company will reportedly deliver educational workshops, e-courses and other forms of training to employers seeking to boost their staff members' wellbeing.

According to CNBC, a leaked memo reportedly sent to staff at the time, said: "HuffPosters,

"I wanted you to have the facts regarding the story that appeared this afternoon in a few publications about my launching a new startup. The truth is that yes, I am launching a new startup to focus on the messages in Thrive and The Sleep Revolution, but it is not a media venture.

"The goal will be to provide workshops, e-courses and certification programs to companies around the world. The workshops will be tailored for businesses to drive organizational success, built on the latest scientific findings which prove that the health and well-being of employees and the health of the bottom line are strongly connected.

"The company, Thrive Global, will be run by a separate management team and my primary focus will remain on The Huffington Post, with no change to my current role. It will be a few months before Thrive Global launches and I'll keep everybody updated. But of course in the meantime, if you have any questions, please come and see me or email me."

In a separate interview with the Wall Street Journal, Huffington said she wanted to devote herself full-time to her new venture.

“I really thought I could do both, but as we started building it up, I realized that it really needed my full attention.

“It is important to know when one door closes and another opens and I felt that moment had arrived,” she said.

AOL bought The Huffington Post in 2011 for $315 million. But when AOL itself was acquired by Verizon for $4.4 billion last year, questions were raised about Huffington's future in the company.

Following the deal, Huffington signed a contract to remain president and editor-in-chief of the publication through 2019.

There had been discussion for her to continue at the company in a different role but she told the Wall Street Journal that this was not a possibility,

“I have been running Huffington Post for 11 years and I couldn't imagine having another relationship with it,” she said.

Huffington will reportedly leave in the publication in the next two or three weeks.

“Arianna is a visionary who built The Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform,” Tim Armstrong, chief executive officer of AOL, said in a statement.

"AOL and Verizon are committed to continuing its growth and the groundbreaking work Arianna pioneered.”