Future, the special-interest media group, today announces the appointment of Chris Taylor as Head of Communications for its UK business. Chris joins Future from IPC Media, where he was group head of PR, and will report to Future UK Chief Executive Mark Wood.
Chris will be responsible for all aspects of Future UK’s external and internal communications. Managing a team of four, he will oversee media and public relations, as well as internal communications across the portfolio, which is based in London and Bath.
Chris spent over eight years at IPC Media, heading up media relations for the business – latterly as group head of PR, taking on consumer PR responsibility for some of the key brands in the portfolio. Most recently he oversaw the delivery of the consumer PR campaign for the Shockwaves NME Awards 2011. He created and implemented the PR campaigns for some of the biggest magazine launches of the last 20 years – including Nuts and Look; as well as raising the profile of IPC’s digital expansion – from the acquisitions of www.mousebreaker.co.uk and www.trustedreviews.co.uk to internal developments including www.goodtoknow.co.uk and NME Radio.
Chris developed and delivered issues management and PR solutions to the IPC Media board and across the IPC Media group. He also headed a PR team responsible for delivering profile-raising PR at divisional and brand level, working across brands as diverse as Woman’s Weekly, What’s On TV, Woman & Home and Country Life. Prior to joining IPC in 2002 Chris was a business journalist. He spent three years at Media Week – initially as features editor, then deputy editor.
Mark Wood says: “I’m delighted to welcome Chris to Future. He has a proven track record in developing and delivering innovative PR strategy, with a focus on supporting business objectives. At Future we have a superlative portfolio of special interest titles that are loved by their audiences of enthusiasts. We’re delivering brilliant editorial content and first class advertising solutions across a range of digital and offline platforms. Chris will help us amplify those stories.”
Chris Taylor says: “Future rightfully has a fantastic reputation for delivering compelling content to passionate consumers. It is leading the way in developing digital propositions for its diverse audiences and the prospect of joining the team and helping to develop that narrative is truly exciting.”
Chris joins Future on April 26th. He will manage the communications team at Future comprising: Internal Communications Manager Rachel Spooner, Communications Executives Jen Campbell and Steve Wright, and Communications Assistant Natalie Tidey.
ENDS
About Future:
Future plc is an international special-interest media group, listed on the London Stock Exchange (symbol FUTR). Founded in 1985 with one magazine, today we have operations in the UK, US and Australia creating over 180 special-interest publications, websites and events. We hold market-leading positions in games, film, music, technology, cycling, automotive and crafts. Our biggest-selling magazines include T3, Total Film, Classic Rock, Guitar World and Official Xbox Magazine. Our websites include gamesradar.com, bikeradar.com, and techradar.com. Future sells more than 3 million magazines each month; we attract more than 23 million unique visitors to our websites; and we host 27 annual live events. In addition, Future exports or syndicates publications to 90 countries, making us the UK’s number one exporter and licensor of monthly magazines.
For further information:
Please contact Natalie Tidey – 020 7042 4034 or natalie.tidey@futurenet.com
