THE managing director for newspapers at publishers, DC Thomson, has had his role extended, to include the company’s magazines.
Ellis Watson – a former Mirror Group boss and also chief executive of Celador and Simon Cowell’s entertainment company, Syco – has been given the new post of chief executive of DC Thomson Publishing (Newspapers and Magazines).
Says a company statement: “Ellis Watson will take responsibility for all of DC Thomson’s magazine business including Puzzler and This England as well as the company’s newspaper operations.
“From January 23, Ellis will replace Ben Gray who has been head of consumer entertainment since 2008. Over the next few months Ben will work closely to support Ellis and to hand over the day-to-day running of the magazine operation before moving on to strategic projects for the company.”
The statement quotes Andrew F. Thomson, DC Thomson chair, as saying: “Ellis brings with him a wealth of industry experience and local knowledge. I am delighted to announce Ellis’ new position which will provide us with an exciting opportunity to develop our magazine business and innovate around our intellectual property.”
Watson is also quoted, as saying: “It’s excellent to be running these fantastic magazine titles. This is a tremendous chance to bring together the magazine division and work across the DC Thomson Group.”
Watson joined DC Thomson last year.
