OPA's Zimbalist Departs for NYT

Michael Zimbalist, leader of the Online Publisher’s Assocation, will leave the group and join The New York Times Company. He’ll be president of research and development, a newly created post that reports directly to NYT digital head Martin Nisenholtz.

“Michael is recognized as an online media expert and he brings extensive experience in formulating strategy for online and new media entities,” said Nisenholtz in a statement.

Zimbalist’s responsibilities will include development of the company’s Boston.com portal and mobile technology initiatives.

He has been with the OPA since 2001, when he joined as acting executive director. He later became director and then president of the association. Under his leadership, the OPA’s function in the marketplace has mainly been a producer of research. Under his wing, it also set up a job board for the industry and earlier this year staked out legislative position on H.R. bill 29, also known as the SPY ACT.

Zimbalist will continue on with the OPA until late January, at which time VP of Marketing Pam Horan will succeed him as acting president until a replacement is found.

Earlier, Zimbalist was EVP of marketing at ePod. He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.