Guy Edmunds, the recently appointed director of advertising at The Observer under new ownership by Tortoise Media, has departed the news title after just a few days in the job.
Before joining The Observer, Edmunds was at Carwow, an online automobile marketplace, where he had been head of media sales since February.
He was announced as The Observer‘s new commercial lead on 14 April. He told The Media Leader at the time that “the opportunity to reimagine The Observer was too good an opportunity to pass by”.
The Media Leader understands that Edmunds began at The Observer, where he was tasked with developing the title’s new commercial proposition and expanding the sales team, on 17 April.
On 22 April, the day that Tortoise Media officially took ownership of The Observer, Edmunds told senior leadership that he was leaving, opting to return to Carwow following a counter-offer.
Edmunds previously worked at The Guardian for more than 20 years, most recently as sales director, before joining Mail Metro Media in 2023 as media director for video and podcasts.
He left Mail Metro Media less than a year later, citing “personal reasons”, later joining display advertising company Exit Bee and eventually Carwow.
Edmunds’ decision to depart The Observer is likely to put its commercial efforts in disarray just days after its relaunch under Tortoise.
The Observer‘s new website launched on 25 April and its first print edition two days later.
Leadership from The Observer declined to comment. They must now restart their commercial leadership hiring process, which could take several weeks.
In a separate interview with The Media Leader, Observer co-CEO Richard Furness said he is keen to build a “world-class commercial team”, calling it a “unique moment and amazing opportunity to build that team from scratch”.
He explained the initial commercial focus will be on driving direct sales with select partners, rather than diving into the programmatic ecosystem.
“We want to create a really premium destination for brands,” said Furness. “And I think you do that by pushing direct sales, not going down a programmatic route.”
To drive further revenue, The Observer will also be launching a paywall on its website beginning in the autumn.
Richard Furness on building a new Observer that’s ‘proudly a second read’
