Dovetail appoints Julian Thorne as Managing Director
Dovetail, the new subscriptions marketing and fulfilment company created from the merger of Galleon and Customer Interface, has appointed Julian Thorne to be its Managing Director.
Julian brings to the company a wealth of relevant experience from the magazine industry, having been Direct Marketing Director and Circulation Director at Dennis Publishing, Chairman of the PPA Subscriptions Committee and most recently Marketing Director of Saga Publishing.
Alistair Ramsay, non-Executive Chairman, commenting on behalf of shareholders BBC Worldwide and Dennis Publishing, says: "Recruiting a subscriptions marketeer of the calibre of Julian is the logical progression for Dovetail now. We want to help Dovetail's clients grow the size and value of their subscriptions files, and Julian has a practitioner's appreciation of how to do this."
Julian says "I am looking forward with excitement to leading Dovetail in the next phase of its development. It is a time of great opportunity and challenge for publishers seeking to build profitable direct relationships with customers and to grow their subscriber numbers. The Dovetail management team, with our shareholders' support, aims to provide publishers with market-leading expertise to exploit these opportunities and rise to the challenges. I am personally committed to fulfilling this aim and promise never to forget what it is like to be a publisher!"
Alistair adds: "The management team under the interim chairmanship of Tom Turcan has done a brilliant job with the merger, putting the company on course to become the 'best in class' subscriptions marketing house in the UK. The project has delivered against our objectives, on time and to budget. I would like to thank Tom for leading it and for building a sound foundation for Dovetail to go forward."
Tom, Chairman of the management team says "Now that the merger process is complete I am delighted to be handing over executive responsibility to Julian, who has masses of credibility and experience within publishing. The final part of the project has been the completion of the permanent management team to take the business forward, and, with today's announcement, I believe we have secured the best possible candidate to lead the company. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank Dovetail's clients for their support since the merger began in April 2005, and to Phil Wheeler and the rest of the management team for their hard work and dedication to the cause."
Tom will continue as Executive Chairman until shortly after Julian starts, scheduled for early-November. Phil Wheeler remains General Manager, responsible for running the day-to-day business.
Notes:-
Dovetail is the new brand for Galleon CI which was created in April 2005 as a 50:50 joint venture between the BBC Magazines (previous owner of Galleon Ltd) and Dennis Publishing (previous joint shareholder in Customer Interface Ltd).
Dovetail provides subscriptions marketing and fulfillment services to its shareholders and to third party companies – from large groups to single title publishers and start-ups. Titles supported include Private Eye, Time Out, The Spectator, Investor’s Chronicle, Eve, Hello! and many others, including shareholder titles such as Radio Times, Top Gear, Maxim, The Week and Gardener’s World. Independent publishing clients include Puzzler Media, H Bauer, Wisden Group and Nexus Media.
Enquiries:-
Alistair Ramsay 07768 715752
Julian Thorne 07890 640204
Tom Turcan 0780 858 3136