James Irwin

Lisa Frazier, CEO, The Bay Citizen

Lisa Frazier, CEO of The Bay Citizen, announced Friday that she will be stepping down.

Frazier, who has led The Bay Citizen from its inception in 2009, said that for personal reasons she had asked the board to begin searching for her replacement.

“I set out to transform an idea into a reality and to build the foundation for that reality to continue,” Frazier said. “I’ve created jobs in a field of journalism that is disappearing, in a recession, but to do so in a way that has a sustainable infrastructure.” 

Frazier, who will remain on the board, launched The Bay Citizen with founder Warren Hellman. She was instrumental in raising $17.5 million in funding for The Bay Citizen since the idea was born in 2009.

“She really, to a substantial extent, was the founder of this organization,” said Hellman. “My druthers would be that she stay here forever.”

Frazier was a partner at McKinsey & Company where she led the West Coast Media and Entertainment practice prior to joining The Bay Citizen. When she was hired, her $400,000 salary was often criticized in the media.

“First thing is that she took a huge cut in compensation to come here,” said Hellman. “Secondly, she was the one who in effect conducted the startup, she was the one that made it the success that it is.”

Frazier’s announcement comes on the heels of former editor-in-chief Jonathan Weber’s departure for Reuters last month. 

Frazier said that The Bay Citizen is in a strong financial position and has already made its mark with “award-winning journalism,” its data library, and its open-source content management system.