O'Reilly Steps Down As Independent CEO; Son Gavin Is Successor

image After 36 years on the board of Independent publisher Independent News and Media, CEO Sir Anthony O’Reilly today announces he will step down from the company on his 73rd birthday on May 7. Still the largest shareholder with a 28.5 percent stake, O’Reilly Sr will remain an influential voice — but he is handing over the reins to his son and current chief operating officer Gavin O’Reilly (pictured), who is now CEO designate.

Gavin has held several roles in the company since 1993 and is also president of the World Association of Newspapers, a vocal defender of the printed newspaper and a key supporter of ACAP, a technology standard designed to allow news publishers to determine how search engine crawlers index content. He now takes charge of a company with 200 newspapers and magazines in 22 countries and more than 100 websites. In a trading update last year, the company reported a 27 percent rise in digital revenues for the year to October 2008. Release.

The company appears to have smoothed over its differences with Irish entrepreneur Denis O’Brien who has steadily built up a 26 percent stake in INM and been branded a “dissident shareholder” bent on destabilising the company by Gavin O’Reilly. O’Brien has on several occasions called for the loss-making Independent titles to be sold off, just as DMGT offloaded the Evening Standard. But now O’Brien has written to offer his support for the board changes and INM chairman Brian Hillery says: “We are working with Denis towards a common goal in the interests of all shareholders which will enable us to… more successfully enhance the Group’s future prospects.” The spectre of O’Brien winning enough support and shares to mount a takeover bid seems to have been diverted.

All this comes with a major board shake-up, as promised in last year’s AGM: it is being reduced from 17 to 10 members and will still include Conservative shadow business secretary Kenneth Clarke and Labour peer Baroness Jay. The company’s preliminary 2008 results are due on April 24.

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