Financial Times chief commercial officer Jon Slade has been named as the next CEO of the business, to succeed John Ridding.
Slade, who has been with the FT for more than 20 years, will take up the CEO role on 1 July.
He said: “I am incredibly proud to become CEO of the FT, a dynamic and iconic brand that has evolved over 137 years, but never lost sight of its mission to bring robust, independent journalism to an international audience.
“There has rarely been a more consequential period for professional news media. I look forward to tackling the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in our rapidly shifting landscape.”
It was announced last week that Ridding’s last day as CEO of the FT after 19 years will be 30 June.
Slade is currently responsible for three quarters of the FT Group’s more than £500m annual revenues including global advertising, print circulation, subscriptions and consultancy (this excludes events and conferences business FT Live and FT Specialist).
The FT said he and his team “have grown revenue, profitable contribution and readership numbers every year since he became CCO” in 2014. It highlighted his role in returning advertising to growth despite industry-wide headwinds, sustaining print profitability, establishing the FT’s digital subscriptions strategy and the growth of consulting business FT Strategies.
Slade previously held various roles in the advertising team.
Naotoshi Okada, chairman and group chief executive of FT parent company Nikkei, said: “Jon’s substantial experience has given him a deep understanding of the FT Group, and areas where there is rich territory for future growth.
“I have been impressed by his vision for the business, and awareness of the competitive, economic and geopolitical challenges that impact our industry. Jon has both the leadership skills and commercial acumen to take the FT Group to new heights.”
Writing for Press Gazette in December, Slade said the FT’s focus in 2025 would be “on bringing the same level of accuracy and ethics to our commercial operations as we do in our newsroom. We’ll experiment responsibly, ethically and transparently with AI. And we’ll have a sharp focus on our offer to the next generation of news consumers.
“Amidst technological disruption and massive geopolitical shifts, next year is pivotal for the news in so many ways. Legacy news media will either become a clear part of the future, or begin to fade into the background. We believe that the former is a better outcome not just for the industry, but for society as a whole – and our key differentiator is trust.”
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