Karen Brophy

Karen Brophy is a media and product leader who builds digital platforms at scale and turns transformation into measurable growth. She has led modernization across web, mobile, CTV/FAST, and data infrastructure for some of the largest news portfolios in the United States, uniting editorial, product, engineering, and revenue teams around clear roadmaps and outcomes. At Nexstar Digital, she guided the business to the largest digital revenue in the company’s history, delivering sustained double-digit growth and record profitability while elevating audience engagement and platform performance.

Previously at Hearst Newspapers, Karen converted a cost center into a profitable, high-growth business and scaled video streams sixfold through product improvements, standardized operations, and smart automation. Her earlier roles at Yahoo!, Tribune, and Spin focused on consumer product leadership, audience development, and monetization. She has also advised emerging media and AI ventures on go-to-market and platform strategy, with a focus on ethical, transparent adoption of new technology.

At Teachers College, Columbia University, she built an online product to help first-year teachers thrive, translating research into practical digital tools. In consulting and early tech roles, she partnered with global publishers, including the Financial Times and The New York Times, on content management systems, platform modernization, and go-to-market, leading CMS migrations, workflow and taxonomy redesigns, and data-informed publishing practices. A Boston College alum and former college editor-in-chief, she is known for building high-performing teams, clarifying strategy, and shipping work that serves communities and advances the craft.