Archant chief executive Jeff Henry is stepping down this week after five years at the regional publisher, staff have been told today.
Henry (pictured) joined Archant in September 2014 with the goal of making it “the most progressive local media business in the UK”.
In an email to staff this morning, seen by Press Gazette, it was revealed that Henry had decided to step down at the end of this week.
He said: “The company has progressed on so many fronts and I am very proud of our transformational achievements during times of great change for the publishing industry.
“It’s been an honour to be part of the Archant story. It is now time for me to move on to new ideas and opportunities.”
The publisher is also losing its chief operating officer and chief financial officer Brian McCarthy after 15 years at the end of this month.
The company is recruiting a new chief financial officer.
Archant chairman Simon Bax, who joined the company in April 2014, will take up the newly created role of executive chairman in the wake of Henry’s departure.
Bax has previously worked as chief financial officer at advertising agency Chiat/Day, Fox Filmed Entertainment, and Pixar Animation Studios.
He said Henry had “positioned Archant as an innovative and dynamic company, as evidenced by the unique and exclusive relationships with companies such as Hearst and Google.
“Whenever I meet our staff, I am truly engaged by their creativity and passion. Our transformational journey continues and I look forward to working even closer with our teams to build a successful future for Archant.”
Archant announced last week that it has secured a multi-million pound three-year partnership with Google to search for a way to make local news pay online.
Archant publishes more than 50 newsbrands including the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk, the East Anglian Daily Times in Suffolk and the Ham and High in London.
It also prints more than 60 regional magazine titles and a number of specialist brands.
Picture: Bill Smith/Archant
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