Steve Auckland named new CEO of ESI Media

The current managing director of Metro UK, Steve Auckland, has been named as the new chief executive of ESI Media.

Auckland, who will start in new role in October, has held senior roles at DMG Media, Northcliffe and Local World and will help ESI build its three companies – ESL, IPL and ESTV – by developing the London Evening Standard into a multi-platform media brand, continuing the transition of the Independent titles into a mixture of print and digital and by boosting the performance of local TV channel, London Live.

The appointment of Auckland comes less than a week after former chief, Andrew Mullins, announced his resignation to take on a new position at Informa as CEO of its knowledge and networking division.

“We are ready to take our businesses to their next phase of growth and development and I am delighted to welcome Steve on board to drive this next phase for our brands,” said Evgeny Lebedev, chairman and owner of both the London Evening Standard and Independent Print Ltd.

Steve Auckland added: “This has been a heart-breaking decision for me to make. Everyone realises my love for Metro and the people who make that business. I can’t believe how much we’ve achieved in the last six months: it’s been one of the highlights of my career.

“However, the lure to work on such iconic brands and build upon the excellent work from Andy and the team at ESI Media was just too strong. I’ve been really impressed by Justin Byam Shaw and Evgeny Lebedev’s ambitions for the group and this makes the position even more enticing…I can’t wait to get started!”

DMG announced that Charlie Cox will start as interim managing director of Metro Newspapers with immediate effect.