Yavor Efremov has stepped down from his role as the CEO of Motorsport Network, Motorsport Broadcasting can confirm.
Motorsport Network, which oversees Motorsport.com and Autosport amongst other outlets, announced Efremov’s appointment, in April. Now, an update to Efremov’s LinkedIn profile shows that he left the position as CEO in November, moving into an advisory role with the company.
Efremov’s departure follows the exit of non-executive chairman and McLaren boss Zak Brown in October.
Speaking at the time, Efremov said “I’d like to thank Zak for all that he has done in his role as non-executive chairman since January 2016. He shares our passion for the sport.”
“Without him, we would not have been able to grow Motorsport Network to the level we’ve reached today. I look forward to continuing our personal friendship and professional collaboration in the future.”
It has been a turbulent end to 2019 for the Network, after a decision to increase the price of Autosport magazine from £3.99 to £10.99 (essentially signalling the beginning of the end for the publication) was met with fierce criticism across the motor sport landscape, leading to not only Brown’s departure but also a u-turn at the beginning of November.
I understand that Efremov was a key figure behind the decision to increase the price of Autosport to £10.99 in October, meaning that his position as CEO became untenable once the u-turn happened.
In October, it was revealed that the Network had appointed Matt Young and Gary Learner as executive vice presidents, with Young also taking up the role as chief revenue officer, and Learner as chief technology officer.
Meanwhile at Autosport…
The exits have not stopped at the top, with several names from the Autosport mainstay also departing recently.
Long-time Grand Prix editor Edd Straw has exited after 17 years with the organisation.
Writing on his Twitter, Straw said “A quick personal announcement – I have now left Autosport after just over 17-and-a-half years having decided to go freelance. Still finalising plans for next year but will continue to cover F1 for various outlets.”
Glenn Freeman, who was Autosport’s video content editor across their social channels also left in November.
Freeman noted “Time for a change: Last month I left Autosport, after 14 years, to pursue something new. Not an easy decision, but exciting times ahead for 2020. I’ll always look back fondly on my time there, including stints as News Editor, website Editor, + our recent video/YouTube success.”
In addition to Straw’s and Freeman’s departures, Motorsport Broadcasting can confirm that Matt Beer has left Autosport.
Jack Cozens has succeeded Beer as editor of Autosport.com. Beer was fundamental behind the foundations of the Autosport Academy, a programme aimed at bringing young talent including Cozens into the Autosport fold.
The most recent developments follow the exit of Andrew van de Burgt as Autosport’s editor in chief in October.
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What a terrible sign of mismanagement, I would love to track this person’s future career so as to know which stocks to short. In all seriousness by allowing it’s two best reporters Edd Straw and Glenn Freeman to go, my once favourite publication is no longer a source of experienced writing.