FHM has hired extra staff and restructured its editorial team ahead of a forthcoming redesign this summer.
The changes, which include nine new appointments, are the first since new editor David Davies came on board last August.
Nick DeCosemo, former features editor on Sky, and James Mannion, former editor of BBC’s Live & Kicking magazine, have been made associate editors to increase the celebrity coverage.
Dominic Smith, former managing editor of Heat, has become managing editor and Damian Foxe has joined from the Financial Times as fashion editor-in-chief.
Phil Hilton, former editor of Men’s Health, Later and FHM Bionic – until its closure before Christmas – will oversee the Reporter section at the front of magazine. Concentrating on news and investigative stories, he will replace Ross Brown as the section’s editor. Brown has moved across to join the features desk, while former associate editor Richard Galkin has moved to Arena.
The art and picture desks have also undergone a shake-up with the appointment of Heat’s Lottie Berridge as art director, taking over from Tom Usher.
Daniel Knight has joined from Company magazine as senior designer, Marsha Arnold, previously with Cosmopolitan and Harpers, has become photo director and Marcus Mays, former picture researcher on The Observer, has been appointed picture editor.
Davies, who previously edited Mixmag and Q, was drafted in to revive FHM sales and replace editor Anthony Noguera, who left in the summer to work on special projects.
Davies said Emap had invested a substantial sum into the improvements and he had spent a long time getting the right people. "The most important thing is to get the right team and the best people," he told Press Gazette.
"We have some big plans and this is the first stage. Men’s magazines have been copied a lot in the past few years and a lot of our own ideas have been copied. While FHM has clearly been the big gorilla in the park we need to push it on again and rejuvenate the magazine." He refused to comment on the magazine’s forthcoming ABC figure, due to be released next month. FHM remained the market leader and reported sales of 700,172 in the latest ABCs – 400,000 copies ahead of Loaded, its nearest rival.
By Ruth Addicott
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