Industry Leaders We’re Watching in 2025

These 50+ leaders across the US are shaking things up in media, newsletters, AI, and beyond.

Leaders to Watch in 2025

Here’s a round up of leaders we are keeping our eyes on this year.

Graphic by 6AM City

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Our team recently chatted about how LinkedIn isn’t just for job hunting and sales prospecting — it’s where the magic happens when it comes to making game-changing professional connections and staying ahead of trends. One thing we all agreed on? Who you follow can shape your experience here.

So, we decided to make it easy for you. We’ve compiled a list featuring experts who are shaking things up in media, newsletters, AI, and beyond.

Here at 6AM City, we identified these leaders below in these verticals to support our internal team’s education, although their overall reach and roles far expand beyond where they are listed.

Whether you’re after insider tips, trend spotlights, or just some straight-up pro wisdom, these leaders are the ones changing the game.

Industry Leaders in Newsletters

Tyler Denk, founder of beehiiv

Chenell Basilio, founder of Growth in Reverse

Ciler Demiralp, founder of Newsletter Circle

Manny Reyes, founder and CEO at Boletin Growth

Joanna Ericta, co-founder and CEO of The Assist

Pratistha Patel, COO of ThriveLetter

Jaspreet Singh, Founder and Chief Executive of Briefs Media

Alex Lieberman, Co-founder of Morning Brew and storyarb

Michael Kauffman, Co-founder of Newsletter Ventures

Ryan Sneddon, Publisher at Naptown Scoop

Jacob Donnelly, Founder of A Media Operator

Chris Johnston, Founder of Nunterei

Ryan Sager, Co-founder of The Newsletter Conference

Dylan Redekop, Podcast Cohost & Content of The Growth In Reverse Podcast

Dan Oshinsky, Consultant at Inbox Collective

Industry Leaders in Writing About Newsletters/Media

Anatoly Zaslaver, Business Consultant and Founder of aryonz

Ted Williams, Founder of Tiny Money and Axios Charlotte

Tyler Morin, Newsletter Consultant at leverage letter

Matt McGarry, founder of GrowLetter

Brian Morrissey, founder of The Rebooting

Noah Greenberg, CEO at Stacker

Esther Kezia Thorpe, Director of The Publisher Summits and Awards

Kinsey Grant Baker, Co-founder and Head of Content at Smooth Media

Nathan May, Founder of The Feed Media

Erin Millar, CEO and Co-founder at Indiegraf Media

Wouter Teunissen, Founder at Time Media

Dave Nemetz, Managing Partner at Audience Builders

Sam Parr, Co-founder of Hampton

Industry Leaders in Leveraging Social Media

Emily Sundberg, Editor at FeedMe

Daniel Berk, Sales at beehiiv and Co-Host of Two Dads in Tech Podcast

Jay Clouse, Founder of Creator Science

Boye Akolade (Fajinmi), Co-Founder and President of The Future Party

Josh Cons, CEO and Founder at Notice Me(dia)

Bruce Pinchbeck, Co-founder at Letterhead

Nathan Barry, Founder and CEO at Kit

Yossi J Levi, Founder & CEO of Car Dealership Guy

Sean Griffey, Co-founder and former CEO of Industry Dive

Jason Feifer, Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Media

Austin Rief, Co-founder at Morning Brew and Oceans Talent

Industry Leaders in Local Media

Rachel Schindler, co-founder of Punchbowl News

Ian Hill, Director of Digital Audience Development at TEGNA

Sara Fischer, Media Correspondent at Axios

Kerry Flynn, Media Reporter at Axios

Kyle Scott Laskowski, Editor and President at On Pattison (Access Media)

Ryan Johnston, co-founder and CEO of 6AM City

Ryan Heafy, co-founder and COO of 6AM City

Mat Yurow, Vice President of Growth at TEGNA

Adam Ostrow, SVP, Chief Digital Officer at TEGNA

Janice Min, CEO and Founder of The Ankler

Ben Smith, Editor-in-Chief at Semafor

Simon Owens, Media Industry Journalist

Brad Wolverton, Founder of Wolverton Media Solutions

Industry Leaders in AI in Media

Richard Patey, Co-founder at LetterOperators

Dan Ni, CEO & Founder at TLDR

Britney Nguyen, AI Reporter at Quartz

Alex Volkov, AI Evangelist, Host of ThursdAI pod/newsletter

Aadit Sheth, CEO at Neatprompts.com

Chris Viglietta, GTM Engineer at Clay

Industry Leaders in Client Success and Strategy

Preeya Goenka, COO at beehiiv

Chris Hutchins, Founder and Host of All the Hacks

Neville Medhora, Owner at Kopy Group, LLC

Andy Mackensen, Co-Founder and CMO at LeadRoller

Josh Kaplan, CEO of Smooth Media

Jenny Rothenberg, Cofounder and COO of Smooth Media

Kate Lee, Editor in Chief and General Manager of Every Inc.

Nik Sharma, CEO of Sharma Brands

Dan Barry, Co-founder of Ad Sales as a Service

Tim Huelskamp, Co-founder and CEO of 1440

Kieran Lenahan, Co-founder of BetterLetter.co

Adam Ryan, Co-founder and CEO at Workweek