Global Radio yesterday announced a senior exec rejig as part of their mission to integrate their existing operations with those of the recently acquired GCap. I'm going to talk you through all of it, even though there's a high chance you'll fall asleep half way through. That's just the kind of radical risk takers we are here at CMU.
First up, Capital Radio boss Paul Jackson has been elevated to the role of Group Programme Director for a division that will include The Hit Music Network - which is those GCap local stations not being rebranded as Heart - plus Capital in London and the two Xfm stations in London and Manchester.
Second up, Global's Executive Director Richard Park will take personal control of the firm's two core brands, Heart and Galaxy, which, as previously reported, will both expand through the relaunch of various GCap local stations in the Heart or Galaxy format. Jackson will also report into Park, giving the Exec Director ultimate programming control over a huge chunk of the group. That particular line management decision is interesting of course, with Jackson generally referring to his new boss as Dad and all that.
Elsewhere, Darren Henley, currently Classic FM MD, will continue to run the national classical station. For reasons I can't quite fathom, he'll also continue to oversee London urban station Choice FM, despite the fact said station is reportedly going to become a Galaxy station in all but name. It's perhaps because the Choice brief will become less taxing that Henley has also been given a new job title -Director Of Brand Innovations - because it's always nice to innovate in branded ways when you get bored of running your radio stations.
Other changes: Mark Lee, previously head of GCap's now redundant One Network, will become MD Regions, and oversee operations and sales for the Hit Music Network and the Heart and Gold stations; Will Harding, previously strategy development man for GCap, will become Group Strategy & Development Director for the merged firm; and Robin Pembrooke, online and interactive chief at GCap, will become Director Of Online & Interactive for Global.
Some more changes: John Legg becomes Business Development Director, John McGeough becomes Trading Directior, Clive Petterell becomes Director Of Business Legal & Company Affairs, and Mandy Edwards becomes HR Director.
The merged GCap and Global sales divisions will be overseen by a newly created Group Commercial Director, though someone for that job is still being sought. In the mean time Global's COO Don Thomson will head up the sales operations, which will include four agency sales teams - to be headed up by Ed Chalmers, Dan Durling, Dom Barker and Jennie Stubbs. Elsewhere in sales, Mark Burl will look after the agency sales group, Ali Page will lead the client sales team and Paul Sigaloff will lead the interactive sales team. Classic FM will retain its own sales team, led by new Classic FM Sales Director Nikki Vidler.
And that, I think, is it. Well done if you made it through without dozing off. As a prize, here's a quote from Global CEO Ashley Tabor: "I am convinced we have a strong senior management team now in place to take the company forward to the next stage".