9 May, 2007 - Titan Outdoor, the world’s fastest growing outdoor advertising company, is pleased to announce a significant number of important hires for its UK business. Seven new directors have been appointed in the last month to a combination of existing and newly-created roles, with a strong focus on marketing and sales.
The newly-appointed directors for Titan Outdoor in the UK are:
· Stephen Dunn (pictured), Sales Director
· Dave Etherington, Marketing Director
· Laura Thompson, Group Head of Titan+
· Ged Weston, Specialist Sales Director
· Matt Johnston, Chief Financial Officer
· John Wolstenholme, Roadside Commercial Director
Stephen Dunn (pictured) will take up the role of Sales Director on May 7, 2007. He was most recently Deputy Managing Director and Sales Director for Titan in Ireland, which holds the CIE contract for one third of the entire outdoor advertising market in Ireland, including over 95% of the transit market. James Barry and Heather McGuire will assume Stephen’s duties in Ireland. Stephen has a long and varied background in the transport industry in all aspects of sales, marketing and operations. He and James Barry founded and ran Bus Media in Ireland, which Titan then acquired. Stephen will work closely with Joint Managing Directors Alison Reay and Andy Moug to drive the sales culture of the business. The sales team has recruited 21 people since the start of 2007.
David Etherington will start as Marketing Director shortly. He joins from Guardian Newspapers, where he held a number of roles for over 8 years, most recently as Strategic Development Manager focusing on management and planning, particularly in sponsorships and partnerships. David will lead the 10-strong marketing team at Titan.
Laura Thompson has been appointed to the newly-created role as a Group Head for Titan+, the division launched at the end of 2006 to maximize campaigns for Titan’s clients with an integrated, flexible offering across landmark, experience and digital. Laura was most recently at Clear Channel Outdoor, managing agency and client relationships. Prior to that Laura was at The Independent for 5 years, most recently as an Assistant Group Head. Laura will work closely with Matt Batchelor, who joined from Associated Northcliffe Digital in February this year to take up the role of Head of Titan+. Laura will initially focus on the new rail corridor sponsorship and station domination opportunities, before moving on to head up the Landmark and Experience teams in Titan+, whilst Matt will focus on the overall strategy for Titan+. Network Rail has agreed to allow station sponsorships for the first time and Titan now reaches two thirds of commuters who work in central London every day (Source: Department of Statistics, Transport Statistics Great Britain 2005).
Ged Weston has been promoted internally to take up the role of Director for Specialist Sales. Ged has been with the Company for 7 years, and has worked across all areas of Sales, developing an extensive knowledge of sales operations and outdoor.
Matt Johnston joined Titan in March 2007 as Chief Financial Officer for the UK. Matt was most recently at AlixPartners, where he worked closely with Titan’s UK CEO Jon Slatkin, and was involved in projects across several industries, including manufacturing, retail, financial services and the telecommunications. Prior to that Matt worked at Arthur Andersen for 7 years and is a chartered accountant. Matt manages Titan's UK finance team and is responsible for all financial matters at the Company.
John Wolstenholme is joining Titan for eight months as Acting Roadside Commercial Director. His role will be to help improve Titan's roadside offering and to anticipate and deliver the market's needs by working closely with sales, development and operations. John has had an extensive and varied career, including four years at JCDecaux.
In addition to these seven new directors, Titan has also appointed Sean Rees as Head of Production, leading the newly-created production department. This department has been set up to stream line purchasing of print and production and to maintain high quality standards as Titan maximizes opportunities across its estate in this period of fast-paced changed for outdoor. Alison Reay, Joint Managing Director said of these appointments: “We are delighted to make so many strong additions to the Titan team at this exciting time for the company and the industry. I have no doubt the new directors’ varied skills across sales and marketing will be invaluable as we drive change and innovation across the business. We are also pleased that we can fill some of these roles from within the company; it speaks to the strength and depth of the overall organization. We have had over 120 people join the UK Titan team in the past year, and we look forward to the challenges ahead in the knowledge we are in a stronger position than ever.”