BEND THE WORLD TO YOUR WILL

No billionaire owner. No safety net. Just 11.5 million subscribers and counting. Meet the New York Times CEO outmaneuvering tech, Trump, and an industry in crisis.

- By Ruth Umoh

ON THE MORNING OF Sept. 8, 2020, Meredith Kopit Levien's first day as CEO of the New York Times, she opened her laptop in the living room of her pandemic rental in Calabasas, Calif., as her 9-year-old son remotely attended fourth grade nearby. She found herself staring into a world on fire. Much of the publication's 4,700-person staff was working from cramped apartments, taking meetings on Zoom, or reporting from the streets-some in harm's way. The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer had ignited protests and a national reckoning on race and power. Within the Times, an incendiary op-ed calling for military force to subdue Black Lives Matter rallies had led to the abrupt ouster of the opinion editor.

Meanwhile, Levien's longtime mentor, Mark Thompson-the British chief executive credited with transforming the Times into a digital subscription powerhouse-was gone. For years, the two were in constant contact as COO and CEO. Now, she was alone in the chair.

At 49, Levien (pronounced LevEE-yen) was the youngest person and second woman to lead the 173-yearold institution. "It took me at least a year-maybe two-just to have any confidence that I could do the job," she tells Fortune. "And that I could maybe even do it well." Part of the pressure was to keep up the company's remarkable momentum. Digital subscription revenue had surged 24% year over year in the first half of 2020 to $276 million, surpassing print for the first time. Wirecutter, the Times' product recommendation site, had a growing affiliate revenue stream. Meanwhile, the Cooking app flourished as people hunkered down at home, seeking guidance in the kitchen.