Editing Encyclopædia Britannica (section)

=== Corporate structure ===
During much of the 20th century, the ''Britannica'' had a significant ownership stake from the [[University of Chicago]], with many people associated with the university serving senior positions in the organisation.<ref name="brit-myth" /><sup>331-332</sup> During the mid 20th century, managers and executives at the ''Britannica'' company were lavishly rewarded due to the healthy profit encyclopedia sales generated, with division managers at the top of the sales organisation earning an average salary of $125,000 in 1958 (${{Inflation|index=US|value=125000|start_year=1958|r=0|fmt=c}} around in current USD adjusted for inflation).<ref name="brit-myth" /><sup>329</sup>

From 1974, the company was controlled by the [[Benton Foundation]], of which the University of Chicago was the sole beneficiary.<ref name=":4" /> In January 1996, the ''Britannica'' was purchased from the Benton Foundation by billionaire Swiss financier [[Jacqui Safra]],<ref>{{cite news | url = https://chronicle.uchicago.edu/960104/britannica.shtml | title = Britannica sold by Benton Foundation | publisher = University of Chicago Chronicle | date = 4 January 1996 | access-date = 17 February 2022 | archive-date = 29 December 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211229125031/http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/960104/britannica.shtml | url-status = live }}</ref> who serves as its current chair of the board. In 1997, Don Yannias, a long-time associate and investment advisor of Safra, became CEO of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://corporate.britannica.com/press/releases/yannias.html |title=Encyclopædia Britannica Announces Appointment of Don Yannias As Chief Executive Officer |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Incorporated |date=4 March 1997 |access-date=15 March 2012 |archive-date=9 July 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709103523/https://corporate.britannica.com/press/releases/yannias.html}}</ref>

In 1999, a new company, [[Britannica.com Inc.|Britannica.com Incorporated]], was [[corporate spin-off|created]] to develop digital versions of the ''Britannica''; Yannias assumed the role of CEO in the new company, while his former position at the parent company remained vacant for two years. Yannias' tenure at Britannica.com Incorporated was marked by missteps, considerable lay-offs, and financial losses.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Abramson |first=Ronna |date=9 April 2001 |title=Look Under "M" for Mess—Company Business and Marketing |magazine=The Industry Standard |url=https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HWW/is_14_4/ai_73746980 |access-date=26 March 2007 |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013183837/https://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HWW/is_14_4/ai_73746980 |archive-date=13 October 2007 }}</ref> In 2001, Yannias was replaced by [[Ilan Yeshua]], who reunited the leadership of the two companies.<ref>{{cite press release |title=Ilan Yeshua Named Britannica CEO. Veteran Executive to Consolidate Operations of Encyclopædia Britannica and Britannica.com |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Incorporated |date=16 May 2001}}</ref> Yannias later returned to investment management, but remains on the ''Britannica''{{'s}} Board of Directors.

In 2003, former management consultant [[Jorge Aguilar-Cauz]] was appointed President of Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Cauz is the senior executive and reports directly to the ''Britannica''{{'s}} Board of Directors. Cauz has been pursuing alliances with other companies and extending the ''Britannica'' brand to new educational and reference products, continuing the strategy pioneered by former CEO [[Elkan Harrison Powell]] in the mid-1930s.<ref name="propedia_Chair_President">{{Cite journal |last=Goetz |first=Philip W. |year=2007 |title=The New Encyclopædia Britannica |journal=Encyclopaedia Britannica Incorporated |edition=15th edition, {{lang|la|Propædia}} |location=Chicago, Illinois |page=2 |bibcode=1991neb..book.....G}}</ref>

In the fall of 2017, [[Karthik Krishnan]] was appointed global chief executive officer of the Encyclopædia Britannica Group. Krishnan brought a varied perspective to the role based on several high-level positions in digital media, including RELX (formerly known as Reed Elsevier, and one of the constituents of the FTSE 100 Index) and Rodale, in which he was responsible for "driving business and cultural transformation and accelerating growth".<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/encyclopaedia-britannica-group-appoints-karthik-krishnan-as-global-chief-executive-officer-300570318.html|title=Encyclopaedia Britannica Group Appoints Karthik Krishnan as Global Chief Executive Officer|author=Encyclopaedia Britannica Group|website=PR Newswire |language=en|access-date=3 December 2018|archive-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203105602/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/encyclopaedia-britannica-group-appoints-karthik-krishnan-as-global-chief-executive-officer-300570318.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Taking the reins of the company as it was preparing to mark its 250th anniversary and define the next phase of its digital strategy for consumers and K–12 schools, Krishnan launched a series of new initiatives in his first year.

First was Britannica Insights,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-encyclopedia-britannica-fact-check-plug-in-20180608-story.html|title=Google results aren't always accurate. Encyclopaedia Britannica's new Chrome extension could help.|last=Marotti|first=Ally|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=3 December 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203152045/https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-encyclopedia-britannica-fact-check-plug-in-20180608-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> a free, downloadable software extension to the Google Chrome browser that served up edited, fact-checked Britannica information with queries on search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Its purpose, the company said, was to "provide trusted, verified information" in conjunction with search results that were thought to be increasingly unreliable in the era of misinformation and "fake news."

The product was quickly followed by Britannica School Insights, which provided similar content for subscribers to Britannica's online classroom products, and a partnership with YouTube<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://bigthink.com/brandon-weber/new-to-youtube-a-fact-checking-collaboration-with-wikipedia-encyclopedia-brittanica|title=YouTube now displays facts below conspiracy theory videos|date=8 August 2018|work=Big Think|access-date=3 December 2018|language=en|archive-date=3 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203153559/https://bigthink.com/brandon-weber/new-to-youtube-a-fact-checking-collaboration-with-wikipedia-encyclopedia-brittanica|url-status=live}}</ref> in which verified Britannica content appeared on the site as an antidote to user-generated video content that could be false or misleading.