Digital media strategist Jimmy Leach joins Huffpost UK as new editor-in-chief

Former Number Ten digital communications boss Jimmy Leach has been named as the next Huffpost UK editor-in-chief, while head of news Jess Brammar steps up as executive editor.

Leach replaces Polly Curtis who left the news website suddenly last year.

He previously worked as digital editorial director at The Independent in 2008 and prior to that spent six years as an executive editor at the Guardian.

He has also worked as head of digital communications at Number Ten and head of digital engagement at the Foreign Office.

Leach currently runs his own digital communications firm, Zinzan Digital, also working as a consultant in this field, and is head of crowdfunding at publisher Unbound.

Press Gazette understands he will leave these roles when he starts at Huffpost UK on 1 April.

Said Leach: “I have been so impressed by all the great reporting by the team and recent projects that look beyond the London bubble, which we so often focus on as an industry. It is a challenging but also a very exciting time for journalism, and I am excited by what we are going to do as a team.”

Brammar, who joined Huffpost UK last year from BBC Newsnight where she was acting editor, will be responsible for all editorial output and standards at the news website.

Louise Roug, international director of Huffpost, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Jimmy to Huffpost at this exciting time for our UK newsroom.

“With Brexit exclusives, engaging Life coverage, and in-depth projects, such as the collaboration with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism which found that local councils have been selling libraries, health clinics and community centres to fund job cuts, the UK team continues to cover the issues that matter most to our audience, and I’m sure Jimmy’s strategic mind and digital experience will further help HuffPost grow in the UK.”

HuffPost UK is part of Verizon Media (formerly Oath) and launched in 2011 with a team of six.

Topics in this article : HuffPost