In his position, Surman will be responsible for growing both the print and digital revenues of the Forward – including both English- and Yiddish-language newspapers and websites – while managing and overseeing their business operations. Prior to joining the Forward, Surman co-founded and led Eye Multimedia LLC, a multimedia startup, and also consulted for a variety of businesses and not-for-profit projects.
Before that, Surman was the vice president of new business and strategic development, and vice president for classified advertising, for the New York Daily News. In those positions he was responsible for strategic partnerships, investment and acquisition activities, as well as leading advertising and classified sales teams. Surman also held a series of management roles at The New York Times in sales and marketing, product development and management, and corporate strategy and acquisitions; he worked in – or closely with – business units in multiple media segments, including digital media, newspapers, magazines, radio, and television broadcasting and production.
Earlier in his career, Surman was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company and a professional journalist. His writing and photography have appeared in The New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Congressional Quarterly, Technology Review and other outlets.