Reach has named George Grist as its first chief customer officer under CEO Piers North to lead a new Customer division charged with growing print and digital circulation revenue.
Reach, the publisher of the Mirror, Express, Daily Star and dozens of regional news titles, has created the new division to bring together teams from editorial, commercial and operations with a focus on growing and diversifying revenue.
Grist will assume the revived role of chief customer officer at Reach, with Maureen McDonagh, formerly of Facebook, having held the position from January 2020 to October 2021.
He will also focus on e-commerce and affiliate revenue, as well as taking responsibility for Reach’s New York-based US business.
Since joining Reach in 2022 as deputy chief operating officer, Grist has led Reach’s move into digital subscriptions, with 12 titles now offering a paid online access including the Manchester Evening News and Daily Star.
[Read more: Reach to put ‘serious focus’ on subscriptions but expects to keep most news free]
Grist also carried out a six-month stint as interim managing director in the US, overseeing the launch of Mirror.com.
Before joining Reach, Grist held strategy and transformation roles at Conde Nast and Boston Consulting Group, with earlier roles at the BBC (digital strategy) and as a policy advisor at the Department for Education.
Grist said: “I’m thrilled to be taking on a role with such breadth: circulation, subscriptions, affiliates, marketing, e-commerce and our US operation all under one roof for the first time.
“This is a high-calibre, multi-disciplinary team and I’m looking forward to helping them collaborate and innovate at pace, while ultimately strengthening the relationship between our readers and our brands.”
CEO Piers North said: “This new Customer function reflects our ambitions as a business as we focus on diversifying our revenues and making our brands more relevant and part of people’s daily lives.
“George is a natural choice for leading this charge, with a clear understanding of the business and experience in building out our strategic priorities.”
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