Washington Post CEO: Jeff D'Onofrio Steps In After Lewis Departure
Jeff D'Onofrio has been named acting CEO and publisher of The Washington Post following Will Lewis's resignation on February 7, 2026. The leadership change comes days after the newspaper implemented significant staff reductions affecting hundreds of employees across newsroom and business divisions. D'Onofrio, who joined the Post as chief financial officer in June 2025, now faces the immediate challenge of stabilizing operations while navigating intense scrutiny over the publication's strategic direction under owner Jeff Bezos.
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A Sudden Leadership Transition Amid Organizational Turmoil
The Washington Post's executive suite underwent dramatic reshuffling just 72 hours after announcing widespread layoffs that impacted approximately 10 percent of its workforce. Internal memos confirmed Lewis's departure was effective immediately, with board members citing the need for "fresh leadership perspective during this critical restructuring phase." Lewis had served as CEO since early 2024, overseeing ambitious—but controversial—efforts to accelerate the Post's digital transformation and achieve profitability targets.
D'Onofrio's appointment represents an unexpected pivot for an organization historically led by media veterans. As CFO, he gained intimate knowledge of the Post's financial pressures, subscription metrics, and operational challenges during nine months of direct collaboration with Bezos's executive team. His promotion signals the ownership's preference for continuity in financial strategy while potentially recalibrating the publication's cultural approach.
Who Is Jeff D'Onofrio? A Digital Platform Veteran
Before joining The Washington Post, D'Onofrio served as CEO of Tumblr from 2017 to 2022 during a complex period of ownership transition. He initially joined Yahoo in 2014 following its $1.1 billion acquisition of the microblogging platform, later becoming Tumblr's general manager before ascending to CEO. His tenure coincided with difficult decisions aimed at repositioning the platform for advertiser-friendly growth, including a 2018 policy change restricting adult content that generated significant user backlash and traffic declines.
Industry analysts note that D'Onofrio operated within constrained circumstances at Tumblr. The platform faced declining engagement amid rising competition from visual-first social networks, while parent company Verizon struggled to integrate its Yahoo acquisition. When Automattic acquired Tumblr for a reported $3 million in 2019—a fraction of its purchase price—D'Onofrio remained to steward the transition under new ownership before departing in 2022.
His background differs markedly from traditional newspaper leadership pipelines. Rather than rising through newsroom ranks or media conglomerate management, D'Onofrio built expertise in digital community platforms, monetization strategy, and navigating platform policy controversies—experience potentially relevant to modern publishing challenges.
The Lewis Era: Ambition Meets Resistance
Will Lewis's brief tenure as Washington Post CEO was defined by aggressive cost discipline and technological overhaul. A veteran of Dow Jones and The Telegraph, Lewis arrived with a mandate to accelerate the Post's path to sustainable profitability after years of operating at a loss under Bezos's ownership. His strategy emphasized AI integration across editorial workflows, subscription bundling experiments, and significant reductions in legacy print infrastructure.
However, Lewis's management style generated friction within the newsroom. Multiple staff members described an atmosphere of heightened performance pressure, with editorial decisions increasingly evaluated through financial impact metrics. The February 2026 layoffs—which affected investigative units, international bureaus, and specialized reporting teams—became the tipping point, triggering internal protests and public criticism from journalism advocacy organizations.
Lewis's departure reflects a recurring tension in modern media: balancing commercial viability against editorial mission. While digital subscription growth continued under his leadership, staff morale deteriorated, and several high-profile journalists departed for competing outlets. The board's decision to replace him with an internal executive suggests recognition that execution—not strategy—required adjustment.
What D'Onofrio's Leadership Could Mean for the Post
D'Onofrio now inherits three urgent priorities: restoring staff confidence, maintaining subscriber momentum, and demonstrating to Bezos that the Post's journalistic mission and business objectives can coexist sustainably.
His financial background offers advantages in navigating the Post's complex economics. Unlike Lewis, who came from editorial-adjacent leadership roles, D'Onofrio speaks the language of platform economics and digital monetization. He understands how community-driven platforms retain users during policy transitions—a relevant skill given the Post's need to preserve reader trust while implementing necessary business changes.
Yet significant challenges remain. The Post operates in an increasingly competitive digital news landscape where reader attention fragments across social platforms, newsletters, and AI-powered aggregators. D'Onofrio must prove that his platform experience translates to legacy journalism's unique demands: cultivating investigative talent, managing union relationships, and upholding editorial independence while meeting financial targets.
Industry observers suggest his initial moves will be closely watched. Will he reverse recent layoffs? Adjust performance metrics for editorial staff? Modify the pace of AI integration in news production? His first communications to staff will signal whether this transition represents a genuine course correction or merely a change in messenger.
The Broader Stakes for American Journalism
This leadership shift carries implications beyond a single newsroom. The Washington Post remains one of America's most influential journalistic institutions, with global reach and political impact. Its stability matters for democratic discourse, particularly during an election year when reliable news sources face unprecedented pressure from misinformation ecosystems.
Bezos's ownership has always represented a high-stakes experiment: Can a technology billionaire successfully steward a legacy news organization through digital disruption without compromising its journalistic integrity? D'Onofrio's appointment adds a new variable to that equation—a leader whose career spans platform management rather than traditional media.
How he navigates this moment could influence ownership decisions across the industry. Other wealthy individuals considering media acquisitions will watch whether the Post stabilizes under D'Onofrio's hybrid leadership model. Success might encourage similar appointments; failure could reinforce preferences for newsroom-veteran leadership during turbulent transitions.
The 90-Day Test
Acting CEO roles typically last 90 to 120 days while boards conduct formal searches. D'Onofrio's immediate task is triage: addressing staff concerns, communicating transparently about business realities, and demonstrating respect for the Post's journalistic legacy while acknowledging financial constraints.
His background suggests he understands platform communities respond poorly to perceived disrespect or opacity—a lesson applicable to newsroom culture. Whether he can translate that understanding into meaningful action remains uncertain. But his proximity to the Post's financial challenges over the past nine months provides crucial context many external candidates would lack.
The coming weeks will reveal whether D'Onofrio embraces a listening tour approach—meeting reporters, editors, and business staff individually—or maintains distance while executing predetermined directives from ownership. That choice may determine whether this transition stabilizes the organization or accelerates its internal fractures.
One thing is certain: American journalism is watching. The Washington Post's next chapter will influence how legacy institutions navigate the precarious balance between financial survival and editorial excellence in an era of platform dominance and reader fragmentation. D'Onofrio now holds the pen.
