John, who has been filling the newly created role on an interim basis since June, will report to CEO Ashley Highfield.
John first joined Johnston Press in 2008 in a consulting capacity and his contract was extended to November 2010. He was then appointed MD of the North Midlands South Yorkshire publishing unit.
John started his career in advertising at Trinity Weekly Newspapers, before being named as President of Trinity Canada Inc. Over the following 13 years John held various senior positions at Trinity, including that of Director of Integration during the company’s merger with Mirror Group Plc.
In his new role at Johnston Press, John will manage five portfolio managing directors as well as oversee the Media Sales Centre.
“John has a solid background in strategic operations and business transformation and is a strong leader who will bring inspiration, motivation and positive direction to the role,” said Ashley Highfield.
“He will be instrumental in forging stronger relationships between our editorial and commercial teams as we continue to grow our business.”
John said: “I’m enormously excited to have the opportunity to help take our business forward at what is such an important time of industry transformation.
“Ensuring we continue to focus on areas of strategic growth whilst delivering operational excellence is my priority.”
