Financial Times appoints sales and marketing chief

The Financial Times has appointed Gordon Willoughby to the new role of UK sales and marketing director.

He comes from United Distillers, where he worked as a UK board director with responsibility for the general management of the convenience and cash and carry sector.

He will have overall responsibility for the FT’s marketing and circulation sales in the UK and will report directly to Michael Murphy, worldwide commercial director.

Willoughby will take over from the newspaper’s former head of marketing, Julia McKechnie, who left the newspaper to go to World Telecom in March as head of marketing.

He will also have overall responsibility for circulation and distribution, with Jeremy Baulf, the UK sales manager and Martin Ashford, head of logistics reporting to him.

Murphy says: “His appointment reflects the importance of the development of the FT brand and he will be working with FT marketing teams worldwide to position it as the world’s best business newspaper.”

Promotions manager Caspar de Bono, brand manager Peter Lewis and PR manager Anoushka Healy, will also report to Willoughby.

A replacement is still being sought by the newspaper for Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, who left to go to the International Herald Tribune, where he is responsible for worldwide advertising operations.