After co-founding the company 11 years ago and growing it into the successful digital media site it is today, Arianna Huffington is about to step down as the editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post.

The news of Huffington's departure from the site comes as shock not only to the internet, but also to some of the company's staff, with some senior managers learning of her exit on Wednesday night and the rest of the staff finding out in a meeting on Thursday.

Huffington announced the reason she is stepping down is to launch a new lifestyle, health and wellness site called Thrive Global.

She previously signed a contract back in June 2015 that stated she would remain the chairwoman, president and editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post for another four years. However, the contract does allow her to start the new company while continuing some sort of role at HuffPost.

"I fully expected to be able to continue leading HuffPost while also building Thrive Global," Huffington wrote in a memo. "But it became clear that this was an illusion as Thrive went from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff and offices. One of the Thrive principles is knowing when it's time for a new chapter to begin, and for me that time has arrived. And so I've decided to step down as HuffPost's editor-in-chief."

I thought HuffPost would be my last act. But I've decided to step down as HuffPost's editor-in-chief to run my new venture, Thrive Global.

— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) August 11, 2016

While it makes sense that the 66-year-old would be burnt out from trying to launch a new brand while keeping up with her workload at HuffPost, there could be another reason why now seemed like the best time for Huffington to step down.

Last year, Verizon bought AOL, the Huffington Post's parent company for $4.4. billion. More recently, Verizon announced its plans to buy Yahoo for $4.8 billion. This matters because HuffPost has been a dominant property, and the Yahoo acquisition could shake things up as more people are added and shifts of power could change.

No matter the real reason why, Huffington's departure doesn't necessarily mean an end for an era for the site — just yet.

"Arianna is a visionary who built the Huffington Post into a truly transformative news platform," Tim Armstrong, the chief executive of AOL, said in a statement. "Today, the Huffington Post is a firmly established and celebrated news source, and AOL and Verizon are committed to continuing its growth and the groundbreaking work Arianna pioneered."

Huffington helped the site grow from just a blog to a Pulitzer Prize-winning media company that has expanded to 15 counters and has about 200 million monthly unique visitors around the world.

Huffington will surely be missed, but we can all expect lots of success from her next venture.

Source: Huffington Post

Photo: Rappaport Center | Flickr