Truelocal boss John Allan appointed COO of The Australian
John Allan, chief executive of Truelocal.com.au, has been appointed as the chief operating officer of The Australian.
He replaces Brett Clegg who left in March to head up Fairfax Media’s Financial Review Group.
Allan will move into the position on July 18 and will report directly to The Australian and News Digital Media chief executive Richard Freudenstein.
He will be responsible for the day-to-day commercial operations of The Australian, including sales, marketing, circulation, digital, operations and events.
Freudenstein said Allan’s experience within the digital sphere will be a benefit as the paper moves to digital subscription packages come October.
“I am particularly pleased to be announcing John’s appointment. John has worked at the highest levels of advertising sales, marketing, digital and operations across newspapers, magazines and online, and has outstanding business, analytical and leadership skills,” he said.
News Digital Media also announced Chris Hitchen, chief of News’ shopping comparison site GetPrice will also take on the role of executive director – local and commerce.
He will focus on the strategic direction of Getprice, directory site Truelocal and News Digital Media’s local and commerce offerings. He will report to executive director of emerging business Michael Solomon.
Solomon said: “The local and online commerce markets are growing at an exponential rate and News is well positioned to become a major player. The promotion of Chris, one of Australia’s best digital executives, will give our division a new level of expertise and strategic thinking.”
Getprice GM Matt Rigney will assume day-to-day operational responsibilities of the site.
