News UK appoints new digital lead

Ben Walmsley has been named digital commercial director of News UK’s newly restructured commercial arm The Bridge.

Formerly Sizmek’s regional vice president of northern Europe, Walmsley will oversee the publisher’s digital advertising strategy for The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun, which have a weekly reach of around 11 million.

Walmsley. who has over 13 years of experience in both online and traditional media channels, has also held senior roles at Yahoo and MediaMind.

“Ben brings with him many years of digital experience that will be invaluable as we look to build and develop our commercial digital offering as part of the ongoing digital transformation of the company,” said Dominic Carter, chief commercial officer.

“The Bridge is about bringing together our data, insight and creativity – Ben will play a key role in tying together the digital aspects of that integration and in delivering effective, targeted campaigns for our clients.”

Walmsley added: “This is an exciting time for news brands in general and the News UK portfolio in particular.

“With The Times and Sunday Times offering a high-quality subscriber audience and The Sun a mass market proposition, News UK can offer clients a wide range of opportunities to reach highly-engaged audiences at scale with innovative advertising products.”