Since he joined Vox Media in 2021 to lead the podcast business for the company, Ray has made the Vox Media Podcast Network into the ultimate home for top-quality podcast talent and creators. Overseeing a string of new partnerships and acquisitions, Ray has jump-started the Vox Media Podcast Network’s growth helping it double its monthly downloads in the last year, bringing Criminal Productions (home to Criminal, one of the largest podcasts in the world) and Cafe Studios (home to podcast host and former Manhattan U.S. attorney Preet Bharara) to the network. Ray also spearheaded sales and distribution partnerships with acclaimed shows Gastropod, Waveform: The MKBHD Podcast, Longform, and more, and brought top-tier audio talent to Vox Media including NPR alum Sam Sanders and Noel King, and launching a new show with tech journalist Kara Swisher. Ray has also helped grow pre-existing Vox Media shows into multiplatform franchises, most recently bringing Vox.com’s flagship daily news podcast Today, Explained to public radio stations across the country via a distribution deal with WNYC Studios.

Acquiring Preet Bharara’s company Cafe brought paid audio products to Vox Media’s portfolio, a subscription for super fans of Preet to get extra content each week. Chao also partnered with Vox Media’s events team on a number of events that brought its podcasts to superfans IRL. A recent live event for Preet Bharara’s Stay Tuned featured Ben Stiller, Garry Kasparov and Alexander Vindman–Cafe Insiders subscribers were able to purchase a premium ticket with a meet & greet with Preet. Chao has also played a key role in bringing the Pivot podcast, hosted by Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway, to life with a new event series (with the first hosted in Miami in February) and a video partnership with Salesforce.