# Alex Mather

> Alex Mather is the co-founder and founding CEO of The Athletic, the subscription sports publication he launched with former Strava colleague Adam Hansmann in January 2016. A Philadelphia native based in San Francisco, he brought product and design experience to a company built around devoted fans and established reporters. The New York Times Company acquired The Athletic for $550 million in 2022. He subsequently founded Eternal, which announced its wind-down in July 2026.

- **Role:** Entrepreneur, product leader and media executive
- **Organizations:** The Athletic, Strava, Eternal
- **From:** Philadelphia, United States
- **Education:** Penn State University, Central High School, Philadelphia
- **Known for:** Co-founded The Athletic and served as its founding CEO., Built The Athletic with Adam Hansmann to one million subscribers by September 2020 and 1.2 million by December 2021., The New York Times Company acquired The Athletic for $550 million in 2022.

## Career timeline

- **1998-2003** — Attended Penn State University.
- **2011-2015** — Led product management and product design at Strava; met future co-founder Adam Hansmann there.
- **2011** — Saved notes about gaps in sports coverage in a text file dated August 18.
- **2016** — Co-founded The Athletic with Hansmann; launched in Chicago in January and participated in Y Combinator Summer 2016.
- **2017** — The Athletic expanded across North America, including Philadelphia and the San Francisco Bay Area.
- **2019** — The Athletic reported more than 500,000 subscribers in July and expanded into British football coverage.
- **2020** — The Athletic reached one million subscribers in September; the company also cut 46 jobs earlier that year.
- **2022** — The New York Times Company announced a $550 million acquisition in January and completed it in February; Mather initially became general manager and co-president.
- **2025** — Publicly launched Eternal.
- **2026** — Eternal announced in July that it would wind down operations.

## Achievements

- Co-founded The Athletic and served as its founding CEO.
- Built The Athletic with Adam Hansmann to one million subscribers by September 2020 and 1.2 million by December 2021.
- The New York Times Company acquired The Athletic for $550 million in 2022.
- Led product management and product design at Strava before founding The Athletic.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Eternal, Mather’s subsequent company, announced that it would wind down operations at the end of July.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexemather/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/amather

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alex-mather
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24