Vanessa Clifford, currently deputy CEO of Newsworks, will take over as interim CEO.
Rufus is joining the Executive Board of the Co-op, the food retail and financial services group, as chief membership officer. He will be responsible for the development and communication of the membership offer to its eight million members.
Rufus relaunched the Newspaper Marketing Agency as Newsworks in 2012 and introduced the word ‘newsbrands’ to reflect the multi-platform nature of today’s publishing industry and draw attention to the unprecedented growth in readership, says Newsworks.
Under his leadership, the company has established annual industry events including its Shift conference in London and Manchester, created a number of national advertising campaigns and introduced a programme of influential insight studies.
Collaborative industry-wide projects have also been put in place during Rufus’ tenure, most notably the Publishers Advertising Transaction System (PATS) and Publishers Audience Measurement Company (PAMCo).
Rufus commented: “It’s been a wonderful journey. I have huge respect and affection for my team at Newsworks and an undiminished belief in the important role played by the UK’s press. Now I have been offered an extraordinary new opportunity, which I have found impossible to resist.”
David Pattison, Newsworks chairman, said: “Rufus has done a brilliant job in the last few years and has transformed Newsworks. He has led structural projects which have shown how collaborative the industry can be. I am delighted that Vanessa has accepted the challenge to take Newsworks forward. Rufus goes with our thanks and our best wishes.”
James Wildman, chief revenue officer at Trinity Mirror and a Newsworks board member, added: "During his successful tenure, Rufus has led Newsworks with integrity and focus and has driven a collaborative agenda among the UK's leading publishers. We are grateful for his contribution and wish him well in his next challenge.”
Vanessa Clifford, interim CEO at Newsworks, said: “I'm delighted to have the opportunity to lead Newsworks and the team on the next stage of our journey. We will build on our excellent effectiveness work launched recently and continue to champion the unique and influential role that newsbrands play for both advertisers and society as a whole.”
