Politico is about to lose three of its most powerful and longtime leaders.
Jim VandeHei, the co-founder and CEO of Politico; Mike Allen, author of the influential Politico Playbook; and Kim Kingsley, the company’s chief operating officer will all leave the company later this year, sources with knowledge of the situation told CNNMoney on Thursday.
Both VandeHei and Allen are expected to stay through the 2016 election. The exact date of Kingsley’s departure is unknown. Politico is expected to release a memo regarding the news tonight, the sources said.
VandeHei, Allen and Kingsley are three of Politico’s most influential and veteran figures, and credited with Politico’s rapid rise to become one the most prominent news outlets in Washington. Allen, the author of the morning Playbook tip-sheet, was once labeled by The New York Times as “the man the White House wakes up to.”
The reasons for their departure stem from disagreements between VandeHei and Politico publisher Robert Allbritton over the direction of the company, the sources said. VandeHei, Allen, and Kingsley all did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The departure also comes as Politico’s top editor Susan Glasser prepares to step down after the 2016 election. As CNNMoney previously reported, Glasser intends to move to Israel with her husband Peter Baker, who works at The New York Times and has been assigned to serve as Jerusalem bureau chief.
Full disclosure: This reporter was a Politico employee until joining CNN in September 2015.