International Herald Tribune lures ad sales chief from FT

Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, the Financial Times’ UK advertisement sales director, has been poached by the International Herald Tribune.

He will be responsible for the worldwide advertising operations of the IHT and report to Richard Wooldridge, president and chief operating officer of the IHT.

Dunbar-Johnson, who has been with the Financial Times since 1985, says: “I have been fortunate to have had an interesting and varied career over the past 12-and-a-half years at the FT which has afforded me the opportunity to work in London, Paris and New York.” The IHT has embarked on a series of joint ventures with newspapers in other key markets to produce supplements of local news.

Based in Paris and London, Dunbar-Johnson will oversee eight subsidiary IHT offices and more than 100 ad executives around the world.

His departure follows that of Julia McKechnie, the FT’s former UK marketing manager, who left at the end of March to take up a role as head of marketing at World Telecom. Interviews are currently being held to replace her. The FT has embarked on a series of localised promotions targeting Leeds, Manchester, Dublin and Glasgow.