DC Thomson says Lee, who retains his role as chief information officer, joined the company in 2020 and has been instrumental in developing its growth plan, leading a digital transformation, the integration of Findmypast into the wider company and launching new and improved digital products and experiences.
Lee will be supporting Sarah Bush, managing director of Findmypast and DC Thomson’s first chief product officer. Sarah is responsible for the strategy and the development of Findmypast’s growth plan and as CPO will lead and build the product practice for consumer products across DC Thomson.
Lee is a seasoned product and technology professional who has a track record spanning over 20 years in the product development and technology sector, working on some of the world’s leading digital media products, having held leadership positions within multi-billion-pound global organisations like Condé Nast, Hearst and News International.
Rebecca Miskin, CEO of DC Thomson’s trading business, said: “Lee’s appointment comes at a crucial point in our transformation strategy. To survive and grow, we have to do more than just attract customers, we need to create loyal and long-lasting communities and we will achieve that by investing in technology, data and talent.
“Findmypast plays an integral part in our communities strategy and our ambitious growth plans to build a subscription-based business with purpose.”
Lee commented: “As someone who has spent many happy hours on the genealogy hobby, involving many visits to archives across the UK, I consider myself very privileged to lead the DC Thomson History business.
“Part of my role as CIO at DC Thomson is to work with the Findmypast team to make a genuine, positive and enduring impact on the lives of all our customers, the wider family history community who are discovering their family stories or past and supporting local history and academic research.
“As a product and technology leader with a deep passion for British history and heritage, I find it an incredible honour to contribute to the preservation and digitisation of our past. Through my board roles at Ravensbourne University London and the Royal Armouries Museum, I get to see some of the amazing work that happens to safeguard our past for future generations to enjoy and that extends to Findmypast. Working alongside our partners, we are poised for exciting developments in the coming months, and I can't wait to see what the next few months hold.”
DC Thomson says Findmypast’s mission is to help connect people to their family stories. Combining technology, a network of family trees, and the one of the largest collections of British & Irish records anywhere online, Findmypast enables a global community to discover their family stories in more detail than ever before.
Findmypast is trusted by some of the world’s largest archives, museums, and cultural organisations to digitise, preserve and connect the public to our nation’s history online, added the publisher – with an ever-growing collection of exclusive records you won’t find anywhere else.
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