Stagwell’s investment in the growth of RealClear Holdings underscores the network’s belief in the business value of quality journalism and trusted news
Jared Smith appointed President of Real Clear Holdings and Kristen Elliott as Head of Commercial
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / September 28, 2026 / Stagwell (NASDAQ:STGW), the global challenger network transforming marketing through AI, today announced it has increased its investment in Real Clear Holdings (RCH), publisher of Real Clear Politics, the modern home for political intelligence and creator of the highly-respected RCP Poll Average.
Founded by John McIntyre and Tom Bevan, Real Clear Holdings also includes verticals such as Real Clear Defense, Real Clear Energy, and Real Clear Health, and a range of podcasts, radio and television programming, as well as highly regarded conferences and other events. For 25 years, the Real Clear network has been trusted by the people shaping policy, elections, spending and public opinion in Washington DC and around the country.
Stagwell’s further investment will help facilitate the addition of top-tier digital media talent and support a comprehensive strategy to grow the Real Clear portfolio, develop new revenue streams, and unlock new opportunities for audience engagement.
“Over the past 25 years, Real Clear has built an incredible track record as a go-to source for political decision-makers and influencers to understand what is happening across the political spectrum,” said Ben Berentson, CEO of Owned Media at Stagwell. “It has cultivated a loyal, highly engaged audience, and we see tremendous opportunity to build on that foundation and create something truly distinctive as we head into the next election supercycle.”
Together, Stagwell and Real Clear will focus on strengthening and expanding the platform through a range of product, content and audience initiatives, including:
- Enhancing the overall product and user experience across Real Clear properties
- Expanding of the Real Clear events calendar, from conferences to weekly salons
- Growing audio and video offerings to meet evolving audience preferences
- Launching Real Clear AI, focusing on critical issues around AI policy and regulation, from data centers to AI safety
- Broadening opinion and commentary content through new voices
- Developing subscription-based products and premium experiences
To support this growing partnership, Real Clear Holdings has appointed Jared Smith as president, reporting directly to McIntrye, and Kristen Elliott as Head of Commercial.
Smith is a seasoned media executive who has scaled digital businesses and previously served as a senior leader at Yahoo, AOL, WWE, and HuffPost. He has managed multi-hundred-million-dollar businesses across advertising, subscriptions, commerce, and search.
Elliott is a strategic commercial leader with deep experience in sales and premium media partnerships. She began her career at Condé Nast leading revenue and brand partnerships for Vogue.com before serving as Head of Revenue at Kargo, where she scaled the company’s high-impact and CTV businesses.
“I’m very proud of Real Clear’s evolution over the last 25 years. We have worked tirelessly to earn the trust and loyalty of decision-makers and informed readers from across the political spectrum. Stagwell’s investment and the addition of proven leaders like Jared and Kristen, will empower us to accelerate our plans to reach new audiences with innovative products and content, while staying true to the principles that have defined our brand for 25 years,” said John McIntyre, CEO of RealClear Holdings.
The transaction reflects Stagwell’s confidence in the continued importance of trusted, independent media – the foundation of the network’s Future of News initiative – and its belief that RealClear is uniquely positioned to serve audiences seeking substantive reporting, analysis and diverse perspectives in a fragmented information landscape.
About Stagwell
Stagwell is the global challenger network transforming marketing through AI. We deliver scaled creative performance for the world’s most ambitious brands, connecting culture-moving creativity with leading-edge technology to harmonize the art and science of marketing. Led by entrepreneurs, our specialists in 40+ countries are unified under a single purpose: to drive effectiveness and improve business results for our clients. Join us at www.stagwellglobal.com.
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SOURCE: Stagwell
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