Jo, the current publishing director of fellow IPC Inspire titles Nuts and Mousebreaker, will retain responsibility for Nuts.
In addition, Ellinor Miles, head of marketing and events for NME, is promoted to publisher, reporting to Jo. James Thrower retains his role as publisher of Nuts, also reporting to Jo, but will also become publisher of Uncut. Alex Robb, publishing director of TrustedReviews, Amateur Photographer and What Digital Camera, takes on responsibility for gaming website Mousebreaker.
Paul Williams, managing director, IPC Inspire says: "I'm delighted to appoint Jo to this expanded role across our Men & Music portfolio. Nuts, NME and Uncut are at the forefront of how consumers are embracing digital and accessing our content in new and exciting ways. This has been a key focus for Jo and the Nuts team so it makes perfect sense for him to take on this role and bring these three brands together under his direction.”
Jo Smalley adds: "There are few, if any, multi-platform publishing gigs more prestigious than the NME and Uncut, which are peerless for their authority and passion. I'm thrilled to be given this opportunity to work with the most talented and powerful music editorial voices in our industry. Irrespective of market, our key focus will be on ensuring that our compelling content and innovative products and services continue to reach and be relevant to their audience. I am excited to be playing a role carving out a prosperous future for all three brands.”
Jo joined IPC in 2003 as managing editor and part of the launch team of Nuts and was later promoted to publisher of Nuts in 2005, and appointed as publishing director of IPC's men's lifestyle portfolio in 2006. Jo was also part of the acquisition team at IPC who purchased Mousebreaker from private equity in 2008, doubling IPC’s digital reach of UK men and adding casual games to its portfolio.
Before joining IPC, Jo worked at EMAP as group managing editor on style titles Arena, The Face, Pop and Arena Homme Plus. As a journalist, he also worked for a number of magazines and newspapers, including OK! and The Sunday Telegraph.
The changes take effect from 4 November.
