Facebook's Alex Hardiman joins The Atlantic as product chief

Alex Hardiman, head of news products at Facebook, is joining The Atlantic as Chief Business and Product Officer, where she'll lead product, audience experience, and consumer revenue efforts for the magazine turned digital enterprise.

Why it matters: Hardiman, a New York Times product veteran of ten years, led the team that built dozens of news products at Facebook. She joins The Atlantic not only with one of the strongest news product backgrounds in the market, but also with a unique sense of how to manage the difficult balance of business and editorial needs.

The details: In a note to staff, The Atlantic president Bob Cohn says Hardiman will be dedicated to "elevating the user experience on desktop and mobile, newsletters, podcasts, video, apps, virtual reality, and smart speakers."

• Hardiman will also be responsible for helping to shape and expand The Atlantic’s digital consumer business, which includes its recently-launched membership program, The Masthead.

Hardiman's hire is part of a larger expansion at The Atlantic. In February, the company announced it would be adding 100 new staff across various departments, including in product, engineering, data, audience development, and consumer marketing — departments Cohn says have doubled in staff in the past year.

Our thought bubble: This is a sophisticated hire for Atlantic, which is pushing to invest more heavily in product and technology under the leadership of its new majority owner, Emerson Collective.

Note: Emerson Collective is an investor in Axios.