Sir David Arculus, former chairman of telecommunications company, O2 is believed to have been shortlisted to take the reigns at Trinity Mirror after the departure of Sir Victor Blank.
According to industry speculation, Arculus’s background in publishing makes him a strong candidate for the position. The ex O2 chairman was previously chairman of IPC, and before that ran publishing body Emap.
Although Arculus has not yet been interviewed, the final decision for a replacement for Blank is expected in around four weeks, with the new chairman having to make some crucial strategic decisions in the new role.
Blank took up the position at the Mirror Group in July 1998, overseeing the merger between Trinity and the Mirror in 1999.
Commenting on his departure, Sly Bailey, chief executive of Trinity Mirror said: “Victor has made a huge contribution to the success of Trinity Mirror. He has been an outstanding chairman. It was Victor who cleared the way to create the UK’s largest newspaper publisher which commands more than 250 titles.”
Blank will leave Trinity Mirror in May, stepping down at the group’s annual company meeting, moving to chair Lloyds TSB (see Trinity Chairman To Step Down).
The end of last year saw Trinity appoint Richard Webb as the new managing director of Mirror Group Newspapers, with the position seeing him assume overall responsibility for the commercial functions of the company’s national titles, the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People (see Trinity Appoints New MD).
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