CQ Roll Call Reorganizes, Promotes Komarow, Mansfield, Viesselman to Senior Vice President

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CQ Roll Call, an Economist Group business, today named three experienced leaders, Steve Komarow, Matt Mansfield and Kris Viesselman, to revamp the organization and create ever-more-important content for news and data consumers navigating Washington's quickly changing landscape.

"CQ Roll Call is ready to serve clients on whatever platform – and in whatever way – meets their needs," President Paul McHale said. "This reorganization of our information services and journalism engine will propel a more nimble and responsive product suite. We are fortunate to already have the leaders in-house with the skills and experience necessary to lead this work."

With its focus on deep analysis and actionable business information, CQ Roll Call is the go-to source of context and explanation on the issues, politics and people driving the policy agenda. The company's legendary knowledge of Washington provides vital perspective on the dynamic landscape ahead under a busy Congress and Administration.

These senior leadership changes, McHale said, are intended to better utilize the acumen and expertise of dozens of reporters and subject experts, visual journalists and data analysts in the CQ and Roll Call newsrooms.

Steve Komarow, who becomes Executive Editor and SVP, will lead the operation of CQ News and ensure the most important news, data and analysis is created and channelled to consumers who need it the most, in the formats they require. Using strengthened ties between CQ and Roll Call's news teams, Komarow and Kris Viesselman will steer an integrated newsroom toward deeper coverage and analysis of Congress, the White House and federal agencies.

Matt Mansfield, the Chief Innovation Officer, also becoming an SVP, will enhance and expand the legislative data and tracking segment of the company, while also overseeing user experience, product owners, project management and professional services to meet the needs of clients in ways that make their work lives easier. Mansfield continues to oversee CQ Roll Call's proprietary platforms and distributed offerings, and direct the company's advocacy product line, Engage, the state legislative unit, StateTrack, and new product initiatives.

Kris Viesselman, as SVP/Chief Creative Officer and Roll Call's Editor-in-Chief, will expand her leadership beyond Roll Call's news team to lead all editorial staff in expanding their robust, meaningful reporting across products. She will accelerate the growth of creative presentation, using video, photography and data visualization. She will also lead the growth of social media and audience efforts across platforms. Kris's passion for – and knowledge of – how to shape and present our content will be applied to all our reports.

All three bring decades of experience to their roles, with many years in senior leadership positions. 

Komarow, before joining CQRC in January, 2015, was White House editor at Bloomberg News. He's a former deputy Washington bureau chief for The Associated Press and a Germany bureau chief and military correspondent for USA Today, covering wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Balkans and elsewhere. Komarow earlier covered Congress for the AP, and served as chairman of the congressional Standing Committee of Correspondents. He has taught at the Medill journalism school in Washington.

Viesselman joined CQRC in late 2015. She has held journalistic, creative and product leadership roles – including two managing editor stints – at several news/media companies, including National Geographic, The San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times. Viesselman was also the founder of a content company that made documentaries. She and her teams have received major awards for print, digital, film, tv and video work.

Mansfield joined CQ Roll Call in 2015 to oversee digital strategy and innovation. He was previously the co-director and an associate professor at the Medill School of Journalism's program in Washington. Before that, he was a senior editor at the San Jose Mercury News, the pioneer in Silicon Valley business news, and National Geographic. He is a board member of the Society for News Design and a coordinator of the Online News Association monthly meetups in D.C.

"Delivering the most essential information, in whatever format customers tell us they need, is at the heart of CQ Roll Call's mission," McHale said. "Our new structure will allow us to serve clients in ways that allow them to quickly access critical actionable information."

The new structure is effective immediately. Komarow, Mansfield and Viesselman will all report directly to McHale.

The company's Chief Content Officer, David Ellis, announced he was leaving the company on Wednesday.

About CQ Roll Call

CQ Roll Call provides intelligence and grassroots advocacy resources for government and political professionals. As the publisher of CQ.com, CQ Weekly, Roll Call and several topic-specific verticals, it is the premier source of timely, objective news and analysis on government and electoral politics. CQ Roll Call has won more Dirksen Awards for 'Distinguished Reporting of Congress' than any other organization, and for 70 years we have been committed to providing nonpartisan insights and in-depth analysis on Congress and the policy-making process. The company's products and services cover all aspects of legislative, government and electoral processes, giving clients actionable information and custom tools to maximize their influence.

SOURCE CQ Roll Call