Nate Feltman becomes sole owner of IBJ Media

Nate Feltman increased his stake in IBJ Media from 50% to sole ownership by purchasing the shares of Mickey Maurer and Bob Schloss. (IBJ photo)

IBJ Media CEO and Publisher Nate Feltman became the company’s sole owner by purchasing the shares of longtime Indianapolis businessmen Mickey Maurer and Bob Schloss this month.

Feltman, who served as Indiana’s secretary of commerce from 2006 to 2008, initially acquired a one-third stake in IBJ Media—parent company of Indianapolis Business Journal, Inside INdiana Business, and Indiana Lawyer—in 2017 and increased his ownership stake to 50% in 2020.

“I’m thrilled with the opportunity to continue the legacy that Mickey and Bob have brought to the IBJ for so long,” Feltman said Wednesday.

Maurer and Schloss, each 81 and former classmates at North Central High School, purchased the company in 1990. Founded in 1980 by Mark Vittert and John W. Burkhart, the first issue of IBJ was published on May 19, 1980, with John Mayhill as publisher and Nancy Cotterill as editor. Kansas City, Missouri-based American City Business Journals took over ownership of the publication from 1986 until 1988 and Minneapolis-based publisher MCP owned it from 1988 to 1990.

Feltman credited Maurer and Schloss for bringing IBJ back to local ownership.

“A big part of their legacy I want to continue is to make sure it stays in a local ownership,” said Feltman, who grew up in Mishawaka and earned bachelor’s degrees in political science and business from Indiana University in 1992. “The importance of local ownership is multifaceted. It’s editorial independence and the ability to make decisions fast and in the best interest of our community and company, and act entrepreneurially.”

Maurer, the first president of the Indiana Economic Development Corp. when it was established in 2005, recruited Feltman for a role at the IEDC. Feltman first met Maurer when he attended a session of Mickey’s Camp, a summer retreat founded by Maurer to facilitate education and networking among business leaders.

“He’s an extraordinary executive,” Maurer said of Feltman. “I had an opportunity to work with him for many years. I got to kick the tires for a long time before we sold to Nate.”

Since Feltman became part of IBJ Media leadership in 2017, the company purchased Inside INdiana Business, doubled the number of IBJ-produced annual events and launched the Indiana 250 list of the state’s most influential business and community leaders.

Maurer compared Feltman’s impact to a “Star Wars” spacecraft making the jump to lightspeed.

“These new products are to Nate’s credit, not us,” Schloss said. “He’s done a great job. He wanted to buy [IBJ Media] and Mickey and I both agree we’d rather keep it local than to sell to a chain. It was not offered to anyone else.”

Terms of Feltman’s purchase were not disclosed.

Feltman said IBJ Media revenue has grown through increased paid subscriptions—30% since 2020—and a roster of more than 30 IBJ-produced events such as Forty Under 40 and the Engage Indiana Series.

“It’s important to have a well-diversified company that’s not completely reliant on print advertising or completely reliant on digital advertising,” he said.

Although mass media’s modern landscape is punctuated by financial challenges, IBJ Media has an advantage through its focus on Indiana business news, Feltman said.

“There’s really nobody else doing what we do,” he said. “When people are concerned about the future of a specific industry, it doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities within that industry.”

Feltman said IBJ Media will continue its formal relationship with Mickey’s Camp, scheduled this August at Bradford Woods in Morgan County.