Reach CEO Jim Mullen is stepping down after six years with immediate effect.
Mullen will be succeeded as Reach CEO by Piers North, currently chief revenue officer.
Mullen will be “available for a short handover period” before starting a new job as group chief executive for horse racing company The Jockey Club on 1 June.
He said: “I want to thank everyone at Reach for their hard work over these past nearly six years. Together we have put the business in a stronger position, resolving important historical issues and making real progress on our digital growth, while continuing to deliver impactful journalism.”
He added that he will “continue to champion the importance of free-to-access news and the Daily Record football coverage from the sidelines”.
North has worked at Reach (and its predecessor Trinity Mirror) since 2014 in roles including strategy director and group digital director. He has been chief revenue officer since July 2020.
North previously spent almost ten years at Yahoo! working in ad solutions and later becoming strategy director. He graduated from Nottingham University with a degree in history in 1997 after previously attending top private school Eton.
North said in a note to staff that “we have a great business serving wide audiences with impactful journalism and engaging content. Thanks to all of you we’ve made strong progress in the delivery of our strategy and transition to a digitally-led business.
“It’s an honour and privilege to be leading this organisation as we continue that journey. It’s certainly not going to be a walk in the park, but if we get it right, which we’ve shown we can, the opportunity is massive.
“In the ten years I have been here it is remarkable to think of how much we have changed, how much disruption we have faced from social platforms, from Google Core updates to Covid, and how we have grown from digital revenues of around £30m to over £130m last year.”
Reach chairman Nick Prettejohn said: “The board and I thank Jim for his valuable contribution over the past six years, and we and Jim agree that it is an appropriate time, following a strong full-year performance, for him to step down and for the company to take new leadership.
“We are very pleased with the appointment of Piers as CEO. He has a strong track record of leadership and delivery at Reach, and brings great experience of both the company and the wider industry. We are well positioned for the future, following our strong full-year results and strategic progress reported this month.”
Reach increased its annual profits in 2024 by 6% to £102.3m although total revenue was down 5% to £538.6m.
The company’s annual report this month revealed Mullen and other executive directors had received their first bonuses in three years. Mullen received a 5% pay rise in 2024, putting his salary from 1 April 2024 to £529,646. His total pay for 2024 (including bonuses) was £1.25m.
In December, North responded to a Press Gazette callout for answers to this question: “What’s the biggest revenue opportunity for news in 2025 and how do you plan to maximise it?”
North responded: “If you ask AI the question of the biggest revenue opportunity, it modestly lists itself at the top of about 15 recommendations. Incredible to see how AI is learning to mimic classic LinkedIn behaviours… In truth it has one thing right, is that there is no one silver bullet for news in 2025.
“There are three things, all linked. First publishers need to continue to expand their audience networks, wherever they may be. Every single day we deliver over 50 million reads or watches over different platforms in digital and there remains a huge disconnect between the audiences newsbrands reach and the reciprocal investment. It is true some of those platforms have different monetisation levels or options, but revenue will always follow eyeballs.
“Second, news brands will need to continue to expand and develop data-led products and services off the back of that. For us that will mean further growth from our proprietary Mantis technology. Data led marketplaces will continue the evolution of the original ad network and publishers will continue to be at the heart of that conversation more directly with brands and agencies.
“Thirdly, publishers will continue to show they can creatively and sensibly expand into newer content frontiers, sensibly working with new technologies and investing in audio and video across topics that broaden the conceptual boundaries of news. Reach Studio will continue to expand its production capabilities in terms of people and hardware to ensure the diversification that has underpinned publishers for years continues apace.”
Reach executive director of advertising and strategy Emma Callaghan is becoming interim chief revenue officer following North’s move.
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