Appointments Brief

• Natmags has promoted health magazine Zest’s acting deputy editor Rebecca Frank to the post permanently. Previous editor Linda Bird is now editor of She…
• …Also at Natmags Liz Kershaw is to return from maternity leave to take on the role of executive group publishing director for Good Housekeeping and Country Living. Chris Hughes, publishing director of Good Housekeeping will continue unchanged in his role, but this represents a new grouping of titles, as Country Living was previously part of the Luxury Group. A decision about the future commercial leadership of the Luxury Group will be made in the next two months, but in the meantime, Terry Mansfield will continue to oversee these titles.
• Staying with magazine businesses, Dennis Interactive, the interactive arm of Dennis Publishing, has appointed a new sales director, sales executive and managing editor. Julie Smith will take on the first of these roles, joining from UPC. She will look after all of DI’s online brands. Jenny Sinnott, formerly at Haymarket Business Publications, will be the new sales executive, while Steve Malone, formerly of Ziff Davis, will be managing editor for IT websites including PCPro.co.uk and MacUser.co.uk.
• The Digital Radio Development Bureau (DRDB) has taken on Ian Dickens as its new chief executive. Dickens was previously marketing director for Olympus Optical (UK).
• BSkyB has lured Nick Rust away from Ladbrokes to head its interactive betting unit, Sky Betting. Rust, who was commercial director at Ladbrokes, will join Sky as managing director of Sky Betting, charged with facing up to the increasing competition from other interactive betting brands…
• …However, as Sky welcomes its new recruit, it says goodbye to Scott Menneer, formerly its marketing director. Menneer stepped down from heading the marketing campaign last year, but has continued to work in a consultancy role. He is now said to be leaving to set up a digital and interactive TV platform.
• Following the recent governmental reshuffles, ‘E-minister’ Douglas Alexander has left the DTI and been replaced by former schools minister Stephen Timms.
• Adam Freeman has been appointed head of commercial development at Guardian Unlimited, replacing Steve Wing, who is now head of advertising business and development across broadsheets the Guardian, the Observer and Guardian Unlimited.
• The chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), John Stubbs, is to leave the organisation at the end of this year. Stubbs joined the CIM in 1999, but has informed the organisation that he will not be renewing his contract when it ends in December.

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