From February 1, What Car? and Autocar will unite under Brand Director Rachael Prasher, building on the changes made last year when the content teams came together under Editor Jim Holder for the first time. Rachael, who has led Haymarket’s consumer electronics brands for the past five years, is also appointed to the Haymarket Consumer Media board.
Lee Williams, who joined Haymarket in 2013 as Director of PistonHeads, takes on the new role of Director of Digital Revenues, with responsibility for all online revenue streams across the division. Lee, a digital specialist who took AutoTrader online almost two decades ago, will retain his PistonHeads responsibilities and also joins the Consumer Media board.
Al Lewis, who has led Autocar since 2010, becomes Brand Director of Haymarket’s consumer electronics division, which includes Stuff and What Hi-Fi? Sound & Vision.
The changes reflect recent investments in Whatcar.com, which will relaunch in 2015 with new capabilities around data and audience insight, and the rapid development of PistonHeads, which is now Haymarket’s fastest-growing digital brand.
David Prasher, Managing Director of Haymarket Consumer Media, said: “These changes reflect our commitment to developing products that inform and excite our audiences while delivering for clients. Both Lee and Rachael have deep commercial experience and exceptional leadership skills, helping us to maintain our market leadership in automotive.”
Group Director of Haymarket Automotive, Patrick Fuller, said: “Our exceptional editorial products now attract an audience of more than eight million people a month and this new management structure gives us the skills to connect it to our clients. Lee has transformed our commercial digital thinking since joining the group 18 months ago and Rachael has established herself as one of our most innovative multi-platform thinkers.”
The new Whatcar.com digital platform will be launched in the summer of 2015 to deliver a fully responsive channel for in-market new and used car buyers. With data and user-generated content at its heart, it will underpin the brand’s position as the premier destination for in-market car buyers in the UK, says Haymarket.
What Car? Brand Director, Andrew Golby, is to leave Haymarket after more than 20 years as a journalist, editor and digital publisher.
“I’m proud to have laid the foundation for the next stage of What Car?’s development, including the launch of its data and lead business, Connect,” he said.
“With two decades of product development and digital delivery under my belt, I’m looking forward to applying what I’ve learned to new opportunities.”
Patrick Fuller said: “Andrew has been nothing short of brilliant at everything he has done at Haymarket, be that as a road tester on Autocar or at the head of our biggest brand, What Car? He has been a wonderful colleague and a powerful voice in Haymarket’s automotive team. He leaves a big hole and we wish him every success in his future career.”
