Clarke, who will leave at the end of February, said: “Earlier this year I indicated to Lord Rothermere that, after 12 incredible years building MailOnline into one of the world’s biggest news websites and having established it as a substantially profitable business in its own right, I wanted to pursue new challenges.”
DMG Media CEO Rich Caccappolo will take over his duties while the search for a new editor commences.
DMGT sources said news that MailOnline chief executive and editor-in-chief Martin Clarke is to step down at the end of February caught staff by surprise. Clarke was widely regarded as a beneficiary of recent changes to the group's leadership, including Geordie Greig's exit as Daily Mail editor.
DMGT chairman Lord Rothermere said: “I have had to reluctantly accept Martin’s resignation as he is without doubt one of the greatest editors of his generation and I am eternally grateful to him for all his immense hard work and genius over the years.
“The Daily Mail is great because of the hard work of many, not just the few. Martin leaves behind him a legacy of an impressive number of highly talented and committed people across the company who will continue to build upon what he has created and keep the Daily Mail a huge success across the globe.”
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