Guardian News and Media executive Jan Thompson will retire from the company early next year, editor Katharine Viner has told staff.
Viner said in an internal email that Thompson, who has been GNM managing editor since 2010, would remain on as a part-time consultant to GNM after her exit.
Thompson was managing editor of The Independent from 1999 until 2005, when she took up the same role at The Observer. She served five years at The Guardian’s Sunday sister paper before taking on her group-wide role.
Viner told staff that Thompson “has been a key part of the Guardian’s success over almost two decades, playing a vital role in making the company more modern, more digital and more global, facilitating our print transition to tabloid, developing our strategy and helping to make a success of our supporter model”. GNM reaching financial sustainability in 2019 “would have been impossible without her”, she added.
Viner said in her email to staff on Thursday: “Jan has been a great colleague and friend to many people at the Guardian and Observer over many years…
“I look forward to celebrating her career with you in the new year, and will be sharing information soon about how we will run editorial management in future.”
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