Reach announced the appointment of George Grist to the newly created role of chief customer officer.
The new customer function will bring together teams from across editorial, commercial and operations, with a focus on growing and diversifying revenue, says the publisher. George will take responsibility for both Reach’s digital subscriptions and print circulation revenues, as well as ecommerce and affiliates, and Reach’s New York-based US business.
George joined Reach in 2022 as deputy chief operating officer, working closely with the circulation teams and also undertaking a six-month interim stint as MD of Reach’s US expansion in its early stages, added Reach. Prior to joining Reach, he held strategy and transformation roles at Condé Nast and Boston Consulting Group, with earlier roles at Warner Bros. Discovery, the BBC and the UK Department for Education.
More recently, George has led the implementation of Reach’s updated strategic priorities under CEO Piers North, and has spearheaded the company’s move into digital subscriptions, Reach continued. Twelve Reach titles now offer a paid product, with the Manchester Evening News launching its Premium product in November and most recently, the Daily Star launching its “Gold Star” offering in May.
George said: “I'm thrilled to be taking on a role with such breadth: circulation, subscriptions, affiliates, marketing, ecommerce and our US operation all under one roof for the first time. This is a high-calibre, multi-disciplinary team and I'm looking forward to helping them collaborate and innovate at pace, while ultimately strengthening the relationship between our readers and our brands."
Piers said: “This new Customer function reflects our ambitions as a business as we focus on diversifying our revenues and making our brands more relevant and part of people’s daily lives.
“George is a natural choice for leading this charge, with a clear understanding of the business and experience in building out our strategic priorities.”
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