Jim Roberts, former New York Times assistant managing editor, has joined public affairs and strategy giant Mercury, where he’s been given the title of managing director.

Jim Roberts

Jim Roberts
Roberts joined the New York Times in 1987 as an assistant managing editor. He left the newspaper of record after 25 years, in 2013, to join Reuters Digital, where he was named executive editor. He later became chief content officer and executive editor at digital media site Mashable. He most recently served as consulting editor for Washington, D.C. political tabloid The Hill.

At Mercury, Roberts will head global operations for the Omnicom unit's digital strategy. He’ll work across Mercury’s global offices and will provide guidance to clients regarding the use of digital platforms. He’ll be based in Mercury’s New York office.

Mercury in September also picked up former TechCrunch and The Next Web writer, editor and community director Drew Olanoff to open a San Francisco outpost for the firm.