The editor of Mail Online is becoming publisher and chief executive of its parent company amid a shake-up to its leadership structure.
DMG Media said it is preparing for continued digital innovation and further change amounting to “significant structural transformation” in the news industry.
Mail Online publisher and editor-in-chief Danny Groom, who has been in his current roles for two years, will oversee DMG Media’s publishing, product development and commercial operations.
The publisher also owns Metro, the i newspaper and the New Scientist.
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Current CEO Rich Caccappolo will become vice chairman of DMG Media, with a brief to focus on “strategic initiatives pivotal to the future of news publishing”.
Caccappolo said: “I believe our industry is on the brink of a significant structural transformation, which should ensure the long-term sustainability of publishers that invest in great journalism.
“We have a powerful brand, strong operating performance and an owner with a long-term vision, which have helped us drive these changes. It is crucial that we seize these opportunities as they arise.
“The chairman has asked me to focus on opportunities for our company and the industry, and I am honoured to lead this charge.”
Groom will be succeeded overseeing Mail Online by Ted Verity, editor of Mail Newspapers since November 2021 and former Mail on Sunday editor and Daily Mail deputy. Verity will become editor-in-chief of the Daily Mail across all platforms.
Reporting to DMG Media chairman and proprietor Lord Rothermere, the publisher said Groom and Verity will together “accelerate the Mail’s digital transformation, deliver exciting new products, maximise our editorial firepower and grow our audience on existing and new platforms”.
Already this year Mail Online has launched a partial paywall, meaning ten to 15 “premium” stories a day are only for subscribers. Mail Plus costs £1.99 per month for the first year and then £6.99 monthly.
Vere Harmsworth appointed DMG Media chief commercial officer
Also announced was the appointment of Lord Rothermere’s son Vere Harmsworth as chief commercial officer. The company’s heir apparent was previously appointed in the newly-created role of director of publishing strategy in May last year and before that was working in business development for the publisher.
Harmsworth will be supported by deputy chief executive James Welsh, who will also take on an expanded role covering Metro, DMG’s US and Irish businesses, and its print, legal, HR and finance operations.
Lord Rothermere, who took parent company DMGT private in 2021, said: “We are committed to accelerating digital innovation at DMG Media. For more than 125 years, we have adapted and thrived through a series of seismic changes, and today our audience is larger and more diverse than it has ever been.”
He said Caccappolo’s leadership will be “vital to navigating the future of our industry”, adding: “We stand on the cusp of further change, and I am confident that our brands will continue to captivate readers, viewers and listeners under Danny’s and Ted’s leadership.
“Thanks to his experience running a successful digital newsroom, and his strong team-building skills, Danny is ideally qualified for his new role.
“Ted is an exceptionally talented editor with an acute understanding of the Mail and its readers. Under his leadership, the Mail will continue to create the world-class journalism that informs and delights readers everywhere.”
Groom said the company is preparing to “embrace a new set of digital challenges and opportunities” and “continue creating more innovative products for our users and advertisers”.
While Verity added: “With our unrivalled team of journalists and executives – and determination to produce the kind of journalism we know our audience wants to read – I see no reason why the Mail can’t become a dominant global media brand.”
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