Publisher Reach has announced the hire of Facebook’s Maureen McDonagh for the newly created role of chief customer officer.
McDonagh, who is set to join the publisher of the Daily Mirror and Daily Express in January, will be responsible for delivering a data and customer strategy, working with the digital teams and steering “a range of customer focused objectives”.
In her current role as industry head at Facebook, McDonagh runs the client-facing retail team, working with a variety of clients including Tesco, M&S, Arcadia, Burberry, Chanel and Cancer Research.
Prior roles also include digital commerce director at Nectar Loyalty and head of partner marketing & eCommerce at News UK.
McDonagh will sit on the senior executive committee and report directly into CEO Jim Mullen. She is the first senior executive appointment made by Mullen since he joined the business in August 2019.
“I’m enormously excited to be joining Reach at a time when the media industry as a whole is at such an inflection point in terms of how people consume news, the increasing power of the customer and their changing relationship with brands,” said McDonagh.
“The new role of chief customer officer is powerful recognition by Reach of the customer as one of their most powerful assets and I’m hugely excited by the challenge of nurturing this asset to help drive business growth.”
Mullen added: “With her blend of media, e-commerce and customer loyalty experience, Maureen will be perfectly placed to drive our customer-centric vision and targets forward, ultimately helping us to continue to innovate and develop new customer revenue streams. I am delighted to welcome her to the Reach plc executive team.”
Reach, formerly Trinity Mirror, is a national and regional publisher, with brands including Star, Ok!, Daily Record and Manchester Evening News.
