Inc. Names Acclaimed Business Journalist Bethany McLean as Chief Financial Correspondent

McLean will expand Inc.’s coverage of private equity and venture capital, private and public markets, and the financial forces shaping entrepreneurship today

New York, NY, Oct. 13, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Inc., the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future, today announced that acclaimed business journalist and bestselling author Bethany McLean has joined its reporting team as chief financial correspondent. 

In this role, McLean will bring her distinctive reporting and analysis to the financial forces shaping business and entrepreneurship, with a focus on the rapidly changing relationship between private companies and public markets. As the role of public markets evolves and private companies remain private longer, businesses are reshaping how they access capital, grow, and create value, with implications that extend beyond Wall Street. As the leading media brand for entrepreneurs, Inc. is uniquely positioned to examine what this transformation means for founders and the broader economy. 

“I love that Inc. fosters a community in a very modern way but is also obsessed with incisive business journalism and analysis,” says Bethany McLean, Inc. Chief Financial Correspondent. 

Throughout her career, McLean has built a reputation for making complex financial and business stories accessible. Her work will give Inc. readers a deeper perspective on the financial decisions that founders encounter at every stage of building a business, from equity to tariffs, IPO markets, AI investments, and the broader markets that shape their companies. In addition to writing features for the magazine, McLean will contribute regular reporting on Inc.com and appear on Inc.’s Business Model podcast and at Inc. events as a featured speaker. 

“Private markets are larger and more essential to America’s economic well-being than ever, and yet they are much less regulated and operate in much more opaque ways than public markets,” says Mike Hofman, Inc. editor-in-chief. “Bethany will help Inc. readers, who are building growth companies, navigate the private markets. She brings that rare combination of deep financial expertise and an ability to make complicated business issues meaningful to a broad audience. Her addition underscores Inc.’s investment in helping entrepreneurs understand how to build a great company, as well as the economic drivers that can determine its future.” 

McLean is the co-author of the New York Times bestselling books The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here. Her journalism has appeared in publications including Vanity Fair and The New York Times. 

To follow Bethany’s journalism at Inc., please click here. 

About Inc.  
Inc. is the leading media brand and playbook for the entrepreneurs and business leaders shaping our future. Through its journalism, Inc. aims to inform, educate, and elevate the profile of its community: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters who are creating the future of business. Inc. is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with the leading business publication Fast Company. For more information, visit www.inc.com.  
 

Alyssa Carroll
Head of Communications, Inc.
acarroll@mansueto.com