New Northcliffe management structure now effective

Northcliffe Media's updated regional management structure – part of efficiency plans unveiled in October last year – is effective as of January 5, 2009.

The new structure, aimed at creating a leaner and more responsive business, affects the newly-formed South West & Wales and Midlands & North regions. The reorganisation also includes a number of new appointments and managerial moves.

There will be six business units within South West & Wales, each headed by a managing director: Gloucestershire; Wales; Bristol; Somerset & Dorset; Devon; and Cornwall. Within these business units, there will be more than one publishing centre, each of which will continue to have the dedicated focus of an editor and a senior advertising director/manager.

Tony Hazell will relinquish his position as Regional Managing Director of the South West Weeklies from the beginning of January. He will be succeeded by Trevor Lee, who is appointed Managing Director of Cornwall & Devon Media (excluding Yeovil and Blackmore Vale). Tony will become Deputy Chairman of Cornwall & Devon Media until his retirement in April.

Sarah Irvine will head up the new Somerset & Dorset business unit, which will also include Yeovil, Bath, Wells and Blackmore Vale, and will be supported by Western Gazette Deputy Chairman Jacquie Dean, who also plans to retire in 2009.

Dawna Stickler is promoted to Managing Director of Bristol News & Media. She will also assume responsibility for the weekly titles at Clevedon and Weston Super Mare.

Kevin Ward, Chris Coward and Terry Hawkins will also take up new roles within the South West & Wales region as finance director, chief operating director and circulation director (excluding Wales) respectively. The trio will all report to Regional Managing Director Steve Anderson-Dixon.

There will be five business units within the Midlands & North region, each headed by a managing director: West Midlands; Nottingham/Derby; Leicester; Lincolnshire; and Hull. An identical day-to-day operating structure to that in South West & Wales will be adopted whereby each publishing centre will continue to benefit from the focus of an editor and a senior advertising director/manager.

Derby Managing Director Joanne Glynn will now extend her responsibilities to include Nottingham, while Steve Hollingsworth becomes Managing Director of Leicester and Metro Midlands. In addition to his responsibility as Managing Director of Lincolnshire, Mark Price will become Managing Director of Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

Richard Duxbury will become Deputy Managing Director in Hull to support regional MD Phil Inman and manage day-to-day activities. There is no change to Tim Saunders' current role as Managing Director of our West Midlands' publications.

Jonathon Wells is appointed Finance Director of Midlands & North, reporting to Phil Inman. Kerrel Wills is appointed the Pre-Press & IT Relationship Director for this enlarged region.