Trinity Mirror appoints new chief revenue officer as James Wildman departs to head up Hearst Magazines UK

Atkinson, formerly sales director of Trinity Mirror Solutions, will take up the role from Monday (16 January), succeeding Wildman who is departing the publisher on Friday (13 January).

Simon Fox, chief executive of Trinity Mirror, commented: "With Andy's leadership and experience, I know that he will make a huge success of this exciting role."

Wildman starts his new role on 3 April. He is believed to have beaten two senior executives from a rival publisher and broadcaster to the chief executive role at Hearst, according to a well-placed source.

He takes over from current chief executive Anna Jones, who in October announced she was stepping down from the role in February 2017 after five years with the company to co-found AllBright, a funding platform for female-led businesses in the UK.

His departure from Trinity Mirror marks the end of a three-year tenure as chief revenue officer, responsible for the group’s national advertising revenue. While the group’s digital ad revenue grew 11% in the third quarter of 2016, this failed to offset declines in print advertising, which dropped 21% year-on-year in Q3 2016.

Wildman was also instrumental in the launch of Trinity Mirror’s mini tabloid paper The New Day, an experiment that attempted to prove the value of print but closed after only two months in circulation.

Prior to joining Trinity Mirror, Wildman was managing director and VP of sales at Yahoo UK, where he was credited with leading a successful reversal of long-term revenue decline, and was managing director of Ids, Virgin Media’s former television ad sales business.

David Carey, president of Hearst Magazines, said: “James is entrepreneurial and has a strong track record of transforming media businesses.

“He understands the UK, European and global marketplace, and has a clear vision of how we can continue to move our business forward. He will be a dynamic leader of Hearst Magazines UK, which we plan to expand in the years ahead.

Wildman added: "I am delighted to join Hearst Magazines, which is a strong and growing business with dynamic brands, incredible talent and global scale. The UK is Hearst’s most important market outside the US, and I have been given a clear growth mandate for our existing brands in print and digital, as well as incubating ideas for new products, partnerships and acquisitions."