Leading travel community brand Atlas Obscura announces new chief financial officer, Karyn Miller, and interim audience chief officer, Leslie Yazel

The two join Atlas Obscura’s chief executive Louise Story, who was appointed last month, as the travel content and community destination embarks upon a period of rapid user engagement and growth.

As chief financial officer, Miller brings decades of finance expertise supporting start-ups and high-growth companies. Karyn’s experience includes establishing the financial foundation for companies to achieve profitable and sustainable growth, hiring and leading high-functioning finance teams and establishing key business and financial metrics.

As a fractional CFO, Karyn supported early-stage clients in the SAAS, enterprise software, e-commerce, design and build, and technology industries. Prior to that, Miller was chief financial officer at Craftsy, the Denver-based start-up that provides online instructional courses and physical products for passionate makers. As part of the Craftsy executive team, Miller established the Financial, People and Office administrative teams as the company grew from 20 to over 200 full-time employees. She participated in the company’s Series C and Series D raises, and led the due diligence team when the company was purchased by NBC/Universal in 2017. She remains a principal at AVL Growth Partners, the CFO consulting firm.

“As someone who has had a lifelong passion for domestic and global travel, I see the growth potential for Atlas Obscura, as both a community and thriving business,” Miller says.

Interim audience chief Yazel spent a total of 10 years as an editor at the Wall Street Journal, co-authoring a content review that identified actionable insights for growth and innovation. Most recently, she founded Buy Side from WSJ, the Journal’s first personal finance affiliate revenue and shopping site. She has also led editorial teams at the Washington Post, Cosmopolitan and the Austin American-Statesman. As editor-in-chief of lifestyle brand Real Simple, she launched brand extensions, grew revenue and received Folio’s award for Editorial Team of the Year.

“Whether you’re actively traveling or ‘armchair traveling’ through the app’s history and nature verticals, Atlas Obscura is an engaging destination for curious people who want to keep learning about the world,” Yazel says.

Since its launch 16 years ago as a crowd-sourced mapping project to document off-the-beaten part destinations, Atlas Obscura has grown to 2.5 million registered users on its digital platforms and reached audiences through bestselling books, podcasts, videos, newsletters, and guided trips. Referred to as the National Geographic for the next generation, Atlas Obscura’s coverage and reach span the globe.

Both roles will report to Story.

“We are on an ambitious journey at Atlas Obscura to reach this wonderful brand’s maximum potential,” Story says. “Karyn and Leslie join our talented team at an exciting moment, and I am thrilled to bring their expertise in the mix.”