NPR has promoted Bryan Moffett to Senior Vice President of Transformation and Michael Seifollahi to Vice President of Audience Technology and Data, the public broadcaster announced August 12, 2026, in a restructuring aimed at accelerating digital growth and Network collaboration across public media.
The appointments, announced by NPR Chief Operating Officer Ryan Merkley, position both executives to oversee strategic initiatives designed to boost audience engagement and revenue growth. Moffett, who has served since 2022 in dual roles as Chief Operating Officer at National Public Media and Senior Vice President for Network Growth at NPR, will now lead the organization’s Office of Transformation while maintaining his position at NPM. Seifollahi, who joined NPR in 2013 as a Lead Mobile Engineer, will oversee a technical team spanning full-stack, front-end, mobile, voice, and quality assurance disciplines.
Moffett brings over two decades of experience at NPR and NPM, having shaped digital initiatives that have generated measurable financial impact across the Network. His work includes designing sponsorship models for NPR‘s apps and podcasts, launching digital sponsorship programs, and overseeing the NPR Network Donation platform, which has generated more than $70 million in new audience revenue distributed to member stations. In his new role, Moffett will design and execute enterprise-wide transformation initiatives aligned with strategic priorities, with emphasis on cross-team execution supporting audience growth goals. “NPR is in a pivotal moment when we are working across the Network to better serve audiences across news, digital products, fundraising, marketing, and distribution,” said Merkley. “These appointments position us to deliver on transformative investments that will deepen our connections and build more dynamic experiences for our audiences. Bryan and Mike are both exceptional leaders who have consistently driven growth and innovation throughout their tenures and developed a deep understanding of NPR and the Member organizations.”
Seifollahi played a central role in developing NPR One, the on-demand listening platform that expanded the broadcaster’s digital footprint, and was instrumental in NPR‘s transition to a unified mobile app strategy. In his new capacity, he will lead technical and architectural vision for next-generation products supporting the public media digital ecosystem, partnering with a soon-to-be-hired Senior Vice President of Product and Data. “I have been fortunate to represent NPR’s mission and our Network through the products we build, and to collaborate with passionate experts across a multitude of disciplines,” said Seifollahi. “I’m energized to take on the challenges before us now, and for the opportunity it presents to continue developing our brilliant Audience Technology team.” Moffett said the moment represents both challenge and opportunity for public media. “This is a critical moment in media, and particularly for public media,” he said. “The challenges are formidable, but so is the opportunity. I’m tremendously excited to work within NPR and across the Network to ensure our digital transformation leads to audience and revenue growth, as we re-imagine how public media can deliver on our mission and make an even larger impact over the next 50 years.”
The restructuring reflects NPR‘s strategic focus on technology infrastructure and audience data as competitive differentiators in the streaming audio and podcast sectors. By consolidating leadership around transformation and technology, NPR aims to accelerate product development cycles and improve listener engagement metrics across its network of member stations and digital platforms. The moves signal the organization’s commitment to competing effectively against commercial audio platforms while maximizing the reach and revenue potential of public media content.
The appointments occur at a time when public broadcasters face mounting pressure to modernize digital operations and diversify revenue streams beyond traditional underwriting and membership models. NPR‘s $70 million network donation figure demonstrates the financial scale of digital-first audience initiatives, a metric closely watched by industry analysts tracking public media’s sustainability and growth trajectories. Both executives’ backgrounds in engineering and digital product strategy underscore the increasing importance of technical talent in media leadership roles across the industry.
The restructuring establishes clearer accountability for transformation outcomes and digital product development, two areas where NPR has invested substantially over the past five years. Moffett’s dual focus on Network collaboration and enterprise transformation addresses the historical challenge of aligning independent member stations with central NPR priorities. Seifollahi’s appointment signals that audience engagement and technical infrastructure now rank among NPR‘s highest organizational priorities, positioning product development alongside editorial excellence as core competitive advantages in an increasingly crowded audio marketplace.
Source: NPR — Read the original article →
