Under De Groose’s leadership, Newsworks has helped change the profile of news media by driving a more unified industry story around trusted quality journalism, while laying a roadmap towards a total audience-based approach to measurement, says the organisation.
Notable highlights include the recent ‘Back Don’t Block’ campaign as well as leading the industry’s advertising partnership with the government.
Moving forward, former interim MD Jo Allan – who De Groose brought in last year along with a new senior leadership team – will assume responsibility for leading the organisation as Managing Director.
Jo has extensive experience in the sector from her client-side roles at Cadbury and AB InBev to agency roles at Carat, Dentsu Aegis Network and Vizeum. More latterly, Jo has acted as a consultant to ISBA, Newsworks and The Ozone Project, taking on the interim MD role at Newsworks in January.
Tracy De Groose, Executive Chair of Newsworks, said: “The industry is collaborating more than ever and this is really beginning to show with some impressive results.
“Together we have put journalism back at the heart of the conversation, launched campaigns to unlock blocked revenue and created new revenue streams with the likes of the government ad campaign. As an industry, we lead the tech platforms in terms of audience scale, growth and most importantly of all trust.
“I have loved every minute of my time working with so many bright, talented and enthusiastic colleagues from across all publishers, and of course my own team. However, I feel now is the right time to hand over to a new industry leader who can carry on the transformation of this amazing sector and I wish Jo and the senior team all the best in taking the organisation to new heights.”
Jim Mullen, Reach Chief Executive and Deputy Chair of the NMA, said: “On behalf of the industry I would like to thank Tracy for her energy, drive and vision in driving greater collaboration and campaigning across our industry. We wish Tracy well for the future. I am pleased that Jo Allan has agreed to step up to lead the organisation moving forward as managing director – she has played a key role in the industry’s progress and we are confident she can build on the achievements to date and take the industry further forward.”
Jo Allan, Managing Director, Newsworks, said: “Having been involved with Newsworks as a consultant and as interim MD, I am excited to be appointed Managing Director with responsibility for leading the organisation. While the industry is experiencing enormous challenges due to the pandemic the audience it attracts continues to grow and there are enormous opportunities to be had from working together to promote the sector.”
