BuzzFeed loses another entertainment exec to Facebook

Another higher-up is leaving BuzzFeed. Michelle Kempner is exiting the company after four years, where she played a big part in its entertainment business. The company doesn’t plan to replace her.
“We’re grateful to Michelle for her many fantastic contributions to BuzzFeed, and we wish her the very best,” a BuzzFeed spokesperson emailed. Kempner is heading to Facebook, following Matthew Henick, who most recently had been in charge of BuzzFeed Studios. He was replaced in May by Lauren Dolgen. Kempner is joining Facebook’s product marketing team, working on video products that foster community, she said in a Facebook post. Other top execs leaving the company recently include Jen White, VP of business strategy and monetization; and Greg Coleman, who left last fall after serving as president for more than three years. The departures are noteworthy for their seniority and stature at the company. Kempner’s role had changed recently. She had served as VP of operations of its the entertainment arm, having risen from the publisher of BuzzFeed Motion Pictures, now BuzzFeed Studios, which focuses on making original productions for film and TV as well as original digital series. Kempner was tapped to help launch new brands like Tasty and Nifty and scale them across platforms. Earlier, she was BuzzFeed’s head of social, overseeing its franchise expansions.