The Financial Times Group has announced that, after almost 20 years as FT Group Chief Executive, John Ridding is to step down from the role on June 30.
In a note to FT staff, Ridding said: “I feel privileged to have been CEO during a crucial period of the FT’s history and to have worked with such brilliant and committed colleagues on our transformation. As I step away, FT subscriptions and readership are at all-time highs, as are Group revenues. Roula (Khalaf) and her team are producing exceptional journalism.”
Nikkei will announce Ridding’s successor soon, having reached the final stages of a thorough recruitment process.
Naotoshi Okada, Nikkei chairman and Group CEO, said: “John stands out as an exceptional CEO in an industry that has faced constant turbulence in recent years. Since Nikkei acquired the FT in 2015, we have worked closely with John and have come to trust his judgment, commitment and innate understanding of the FT brand. He has stewarded the Group through a period characterised by rapid international growth, diversification and digital transformation and leaves the business in robust health.”
Okada also said that Ridding would stay within the Nikkei Group as Special Adviser, reporting to him: “We want to exploit John’s deep expertise and experience in leading change, digitisation and developing international partnerships. John will also take the title of Honorary FT Chairman, a non-executive role designed to support a smooth transition and further collaboration between Nikkei and the FT.
When Ridding became CEO in 2006, the FT says it was in essence a newspaper business, supported solely by print advertising and circulation sales. Having pioneered the industry standard reader-revenue model, the FT says it is now a diverse, global publishing group, with two thirds of its more than half-a-billion pound annual revenues coming from digital subscriptions. It says other sources of income include advertising, events, research, circulation and consultancy.
In his 35 years at the FT, Ridding has held a range of editorial and executive roles. Starting as a junior sub-editor in the newsroom, he became a foreign correspondent based in Hong Kong, Paris and Seoul and regularly reported from China, Indonesia and Japan. He was managing editor, features editor, deputy editor and Asia editor before moving to the business side of the organisation. He managed the acquisition of the FT by Nikkei from Pearson in 2015 and serves as a special executive director of Nikkei. He also sits on Nikkei’s Global Investment Committee.
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