Goodbye Groupon – hello Wrapports
Brandon Copple, now 41 has just been handed a General Manager title by the owners of the Chicago Sun-Times. The Times lured Mr. Copple away from Groupon where he had been a managing editor for the daily dealing gorilla. Mr. Copple will be in charge of a new venture in video production and in creating digital content about sports and business.
Although the terms of his agreement weren’t disclosed, he is now under the umbrella of Wrapports LLC. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “he will report to Jim Kirk, editor-in-chief of the Sun-Times and its affiliated newspapers and websites, and Timothy Knight, the company’s chief executive officer. Copple’s background will be useful to Wrapports as it invests in ways to blend news and information with the latest technologies, Mr. Knight said.”
From Crain’s Chicago Business to Groupon
Those of us that follow the daily deal industry remember when Mr. Copple left Crain’s for Groupon almost 2 years ago. He worked at Crain’s from 2004 until 2010 and left with the title of managing editor. In a press release at that time, then Mr. Copple stated in an e-mail that “I’m intensely proud of the work we did at Crain’s, and of the relationships I forged along the way. I have the opportunity to be part of something really amazing — and challenging, and fun — at Groupon. I’d be nuts to pass it up.”
For the past two plus years, Mr. Copple has been managing editor at Groupon, and in my opinion the challenges probably began overwhelming the fun. While at Groupon he managed the team that generated articles and photos for its coupon promotions, expanding the staff of about 30 people to more than 200.
His goal at Wrapports LLC is to find new ways to make money from specialized content. Congratulations and good luck Brandon, I hope this plays out to be an excellent career move for you.
