Arianna Huffington to leave Huffington Post to start new venture

Arianna Huffington, who built the online news site she co-founded into one of the most popular destinations on the internet, announces she is resigning as theHuffington Post's editor in chief.

"I thought HuffPost would be my last act," shetweetedto her 2.3 million followers. "But I've decided to step down as HuffPost's editor-in-chief to run my new venture, Thrive Global."

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A newsrelease from Thrive Globaldescribes the new company as a "corporateandconsumerwell-beingandproductivityplatform." It says it will provide training, seminars, e-courses and coaching. The site will launch in a few months.

Huffington, 66,has long had an interest in health and wellnessissues. She wrote several bestsellers, includingThe Sleep Revolution: Transforming Your Life, One Night at a Time.

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"When I decided to create Thrive Global, I thought it would be possible to build a startup and continue as editorin chief of the Huffington Post," she said in a release.

"Today, it's clear that was an illusion. As Thrive Global moved from an idea to a reality, with investors, staff, and offices, it became clear to me that I simply couldn't do justice to both companies."

Founded site in 2005

Huffingtonco-founded thePost 11 years ago. It has expanded many timessince then, launching versionsin many countries, including inCanada. It also launched a French-language versioninQuebec in 2012. CBC supplies some news stories to theHuffington Post through a syndication arrangement.

It is best known for its coverage of politics andentertainment, but also offersblogs and lifestylefeatures. Some of its writersare paid, while others contribute their work for no pay a practice that has led to lawsuits from freelancers.

The HuffPostmedia operationwas sold to AOL in 2011 for $315 million US, but Arianna Huffington continued to helm the Huffington Post part of the company as president and editorinchief.AOLwas subsequently sold to Verizon Communications.

The Huffington Post has more than 100 million unique visitors a month.