Best Version Media names Chris Laurence CEO as Kevin O’Brien shifts to revenue leadership role

Best Version Media LLC, the Wisconsin-based community publishing and marketing company backed by H.I.G. Capital, has appointed Chris Laurence as chief executive officer while moving Kevin O’Brien from the CEO position to chief revenue officer. The leadership changes, announced on October 23, 2026, establish separate executive responsibilities for overall corporate operations and revenue generation across a business serving more than 1,300 communities in the United States and Canada. Laurence will oversee strategy and operational performance, while O’Brien will concentrate on sales leadership, independent publisher development and commercial growth. The restructuring reflects the company’s effort to support a larger organization without diluting management attention across its advertising distribution and sales operations.

Best Version Media operates through a network of independent publishers who produce community-focused publications and develop advertising relationships with local businesses. Its offering combines printed community magazines, targeted digital advertising and online presence management services. The company serves small and medium-sized businesses seeking to reach customers within specific geographic communities.

The company’s October announcement identifies growing organizational complexity as a reason for the leadership changes. Management considers the responsibilities of leading the entire organization and directing its sales field substantial enough to require dedicated senior executives. The new arrangement retains O’Brien in a commercially important position while introducing Laurence to oversee the broader business.

Why is Best Version Media separating its CEO and chief revenue officer responsibilities?

Best Version Media’s operating model requires coordination between community publishing, advertising sales, digital marketing services and the support functions needed to manage a geographically dispersed network. As the number of communities served increases, executive responsibilities can extend across technology systems, financial management, publisher support, client relationships and operational planning. Separating overall corporate leadership from revenue generation may allow greater management attention to each function.

Under the announced structure, Laurence will be responsible for the company’s overall strategy and operations. His remit includes supporting the expansion of the business, improving organizational execution and strengthening the operating framework used by publishers and local advertising customers. These responsibilities differ from managing individual advertising sales relationships or directing the company’s field sales activities.

O’Brien will concentrate on the commercial side of the organization as chief revenue officer. His responsibilities include sales leadership, publisher growth and revenue generation, giving the company a senior executive specifically accountable for strengthening commercial activity. Maintaining O’Brien within the leadership team may also preserve experience and established relationships developed during his time as chief executive officer.

The separation of responsibilities can be particularly relevant to organizations with distributed sales models. Independent publishers operate in different markets, creating variation in local advertising demand, customer acquisition costs and commercial performance. Central leadership must provide sufficient common infrastructure without eliminating the local relationships that form the foundation of the business.

Nevertheless, introducing a more specialized leadership structure does not automatically improve financial performance. The commercial benefit will depend on clearer decision-making, stronger coordination between sales and operations, and the ability to translate management changes into measurable improvements in productivity. Best Version Media has not disclosed financial targets associated with the appointments.

What experience does Chris Laurence bring to Best Version Media’s next phase of expansion?

Laurence brings an executive background spanning public companies, privately held businesses and private equity-backed organizations. According to Best Version Media, he has previously served in chief executive officer, chief financial officer and chief operating officer positions, giving him experience across corporate strategy, financial oversight and operational management. His background also includes organizational growth, operating improvements and technology transformation.

Before entering his operating roles, Laurence was a general partner at Brentwood Associates, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm. Experience in private equity environments can be relevant to businesses seeking to scale operations while maintaining cost discipline and measurable commercial performance. Such environments often place emphasis on revenue quality, management reporting, capital allocation and sustainable operating improvements.

Best Version Media’s business requires a combination of centralized systems and decentralized commercial relationships. Publishers need tools to manage advertisers and deliver community content, while the corporate organization must support consistent processes across many separate markets. Laurence’s experience in operating and financial leadership could help align these functions as the business expands.

Technology transformation is another potentially relevant area of his background. Local advertising companies increasingly need systems capable of managing customer relationships, coordinating print and digital campaigns, and demonstrating campaign performance to advertisers. Improving those capabilities may support customer retention and operational efficiency, although no specific new technology investment was announced with Laurence’s appointment.

His effectiveness will ultimately depend on how well he adapts previous management experience to Best Version Media’s commercial model. A distributed publisher network has different operating requirements from a conventional centralized media company. Successful leadership will require understanding the economics of local advertising relationships while strengthening corporate systems that support the network.

How does H.I.G. Capital’s ownership influence Best Version Media’s growth strategy?

The leadership restructuring takes place under the ownership of H.I.G. Capital, which completed its acquisition of Best Version Media in January 2025. The transaction transferred ownership from the company’s previous private equity backer, Bertram Capital, although the financial terms were not publicly disclosed. The October 2026 appointments therefore arrive nearly two years after a significant change in ownership.

At the time of H.I.G. Capital’s acquisition, Best Version Media was described as serving more than 30,000 small and medium-sized business clients across the United States and Canada. That historical figure illustrates the commercial scale of the advertising network entering the new ownership period. It should not be treated as an updated October 2026 client count because the latest leadership announcement did not disclose a current total.

Bertram Capital previously described the development of complementary digital advertising services alongside Best Version Media’s established community magazine business as part of its ownership-period expansion. This provides historical context for the company’s operating model, which combines localized print distribution with digital marketing products. H.I.G. Capital inherited a business that had already moved beyond a print-only advertising proposition.

Private equity ownership can create an emphasis on operating efficiency, scalable systems and opportunities to expand recurring customer relationships. For Best Version Media, potential areas of focus include stronger publisher productivity, improved advertiser retention, broader adoption of digital services and more consistent performance across markets. These are analytical possibilities rather than newly announced investment commitments or confirmed financial targets.

The leadership appointment may help establish clearer accountability for such objectives. Laurence can concentrate on corporate systems and strategic direction, while O’Brien focuses on developing the revenue base. Whether this structure produces stronger financial results will depend on actual advertiser demand and the economics of operating the publisher network.

How can Best Version Media compete as local advertisers increasingly combine print and digital marketing?

Best Version Media operates in an advertising environment where small businesses have numerous options for reaching customers. These include search advertising, social media marketing, online directories, direct mail, local publications and other geographically targeted channels. Competition is therefore based not only on audience access but also on advertiser trust, campaign effectiveness and the perceived return from marketing expenditure.

The company’s community magazine model provides a differentiated route to local audiences. Rather than relying exclusively on digital targeting, independent publishers produce locally oriented content and develop relationships with businesses that want visibility within those communities. This can create opportunities for advertising packages built around specific neighborhoods and local customer interests.

Digital advertising services extend the proposition beyond physical publications. Targeted campaigns and online presence management tools may allow customers to combine community visibility with online discovery and customer acquisition activities. The commercial opportunity is to offer multiple services through an established local relationship rather than requiring each small business to manage several unrelated advertising suppliers.

However, combining print and digital products introduces additional demands on reporting and customer communication. Advertisers may evaluate digital campaigns through measurable indicators such as website visits, enquiries or customer conversions, while the performance of printed publications may be less directly attributable. Sales teams must explain the contribution of each channel without overstating campaign results.

The company’s independent publishers are central to this model because they maintain local customer relationships. Expanding their access to effective marketing products can potentially increase advertising revenue per customer while supporting client retention. Yet any improvement depends on actual product adoption, pricing, campaign effectiveness and the cost of providing additional services.

The ability to demonstrate commercial value will be especially relevant when advertising budgets are constrained. Small businesses may reduce discretionary marketing expenditure if they do not perceive a satisfactory return. Best Version Media’s continued growth will therefore depend on maintaining the relevance of its community publications while providing digital offerings that address changing customer expectations.

What does the new leadership structure mean for Best Version Media’s independent publisher network?

The company’s more than 1,300-community footprint creates opportunities for advertising relationships at significant geographic scale. However, operating across many local markets requires supporting independent publishers with tools, training, processes and commercial resources. The network’s overall performance depends on the ability of local operators to maintain advertiser relationships while delivering suitable products and services.

O’Brien’s move to chief revenue officer places specific emphasis on this commercial network. Rather than overseeing every corporate function, he will concentrate on supporting sales leadership and the publishers responsible for developing local advertising business. That specialization may allow greater attention to market-level performance, client acquisition and the expansion of existing customer relationships.

For publishers, corporate support can influence the amount of time available for revenue-generating activities. Efficient advertising production, campaign coordination and customer management systems may reduce administrative work and support more consistent delivery. However, the company has not announced changes to publisher compensation, contracts or operating arrangements as part of the executive appointments.

A more structured management approach could also help identify differences in performance across markets. Some communities may support stronger advertiser demand or higher adoption of digital products than others. Understanding those variations can help the business allocate support resources effectively rather than assuming that every location has identical commercial characteristics.

Maintaining local relevance will remain essential even if the organization introduces more standardized operating systems. Community-oriented publishers differentiate themselves partly through familiarity with local businesses, residents and events. Corporate efficiency improvements that preserve these relationships could support the company’s position, while excessive standardization could weaken the characteristics that make the network attractive to advertisers.

What financial and operating evidence will show whether the leadership restructuring is working?

Best Version Media is privately held, so its leadership announcement does not include the type of detailed financial disclosure normally available from a publicly traded corporation. The company has not provided current annual revenue, EBITDA, profit margins or cash-flow figures in connection with the appointments. It has also not disclosed a new financial forecast or specific return targets for the leadership structure.

As a result, the commercial implications should be assessed through the responsibilities assigned to the executives and the operating characteristics of the business rather than assumptions about financial performance. The company’s geographic footprint and historical advertising customer base establish its operating scale, but they do not independently establish revenue growth or profitability.

Several operational indicators would offer a clearer picture of whether the revised structure is effective. Advertiser retention, revenue generated per active publisher, digital product adoption and the cost of supporting each market are relevant measures for a business combining local publishing with marketing services. The company has not committed to publicly reporting these indicators, so their future availability remains uncertain.

The expansion of digital offerings could potentially increase customer value, but it may also require additional expenditure on technology, sales training and campaign management. Similarly, adding senior management responsibilities could support efficiency if clearer accountability improves operations, although the cost of the new structure has not been disclosed. The economic outcome will depend on whether increased revenue and productivity exceed the associated operating requirements.

There is also a strategic balance between extending the community footprint and improving the performance of existing markets. Geographic expansion can introduce additional customers, but weak publisher economics or low advertiser retention would limit the benefits of a larger network. Stronger performance within established communities may provide a more attractive basis for sustainable growth than increasing the location count alone.

Laurence and O’Brien now have clearly differentiated responsibilities for addressing those priorities. Laurence will oversee the systems and operational framework required to support the business, while O’Brien will direct the commercial network responsible for generating revenue. Their ability to coordinate these functions will determine whether specialization produces practical improvements.

The restructuring represents a meaningful organizational change for a private equity-backed advertising company operating across a large number of local markets. It preserves leadership experience within the business while adding an executive with financial, operating and technology transformation expertise. The strongest evidence of success would be sustained advertiser retention, better publisher productivity and profitable growth across print and digital services.

What are the key takeaways from Best Version Media’s new executive leadership structure?

• Best Version Media appointed Chris Laurence as chief executive officer on October 23, 2026.
• Former CEO Kevin O’Brien is transitioning to the chief revenue officer role.
• Laurence will oversee corporate strategy, operations and organizational performance.
• O’Brien will focus on sales leadership, publisher growth and revenue generation.
• The company serves more than 1,300 communities across the United States and Canada.
• Laurence brings experience in executive management, financial leadership and private equity.
• H.I.G. Capital acquired Best Version Media in January 2025.
• The business combines community magazines with digital advertising and online marketing services.
• Advertiser retention, publisher productivity and profitable digital growth will determine whether the new structure strengthens commercial performance.