Eastoe departure sparks Mirror staff reshuffle

The conclusion of Roger Eastoe's 25-year career at Mirror Group is set to trigger a major shake-up of the newspapers' sales operation.

Group ad director Mark Pritchett is likely to relinquish day-to-day responsibility for ad sales to take up a new management role.

For seven months, the group has been seeking a high-profile industry figure to head ad sales. It is rumoured several senior executives - from both media owners and agencies - have turned down the job, citing a lack of autonomy. The removal of Eastoe and Pritchett from the chain of command is likely to make the position more attractive.

The successful candidate is likely to report to Mark Haysom, who takes over from Eastoe as managing director of the national newspapers. Haysom previously headed Trinity Mirror's regional newspapers in the Midlands, South Wales and Southern England.

A new senior executive role is being created to oversee all the group's national and regional newspapers. The job is reported to have been offered to a senior consumer product executive and an announcement is expected this week. It is rumoured Eastoe's failure to get this position sparked his departure.

The new appointment will free group chief executive Philip Graf to concentrate on developing the Mirror Group's strategy.

Mike Masters, who headed Trinity Mirror's regional newspapers, is also leaving the company. He is taking early retirement and will leave at the end of the year.

This article was first published on brandrepublic.com