Daryl Fielding's appointment as the commercial director of Independent Newspapers, the owner of The Independent and The Independent on Sunday, has been greeted with intrigue and, in some cases, disbelief by media observers.
Why, they ask, would Fielding, an advertising veteran with no newspaper experience, swap her role as managing partner at ad giant Ogilvy Advertising for running the commercial operations of two loss-making papers facing an uncertain future? Likewise, why would Independent Newspapers opt for such a radical appointment?
Fielding has been drafted in by newly appointed managing director and editor-in-chief Simon Kelner. He is banking on her experience of running global campaigns to engender much-needed revenue streams and help shore up the papers' coffers.
The pair met for the first time less than two months ago through mutual friends, and Fielding was quickly offered the job, replacing her long-standing predecessor Simon Barnes, who was summarily ousted from the role. She is expected to start her new job in June.
So why did Fielding sacrifice her career in advertising for the testosterone-fuelled world of newspaper trading? She says: "I needed a fresh challenge, as I have been with Ogilvy for 10 years. I am not bored by the advertising world, but I had a twinkle in my eye for a change. And I like a challenge."
Shareholder revolt
On this last point, Fielding is unlikely to be disappointed. The papers are reportedly losing between £6m and £13m a year, and parent company Independent News & Media, which is mired in a shareholder revolt, does not have the level of financial support boasted by rivals such as News International.
That said, Fielding has faced difficult challenges throughout her advertising career, and can point to a number of triumphs, whether winning business or leading teams on globally successful ad campaigns.
She says: "Most of the advertising accounts I have worked on have threatened to leave the agency and, without being arrogant, I haven't lost a patient yet."
Fielding's advertising career spans around 30 years, including spells at creative agencies Abbott Mead Vickers, Lowe and DDB, and she has headed accounts for brands as diverse as the Labour Party, Ford and Royal & SunAlliance.
The crown jewel in her CV, according to Fielding, is her role in overseeing and developing Unilever's Real Beauty campaign for its toiletry brand Dove - a revolutionary campaign that challenged the notion of using stick-thin, air-brushed models in ads, by replacing them with real women.
"The Dove campaign ran in hundreds of countries," she points out. "I was the only person at Ogilvy to work with the client and lead the development of the creative work. I saw the campaign through from a blank piece of paper onto the billboards."
Another highlight was running the Labour Party's advertising campaign in the 1997 General Election. This challenged received wisdom by running a TV documentary on Tony Blair for 10 minutes, as opposed to the usual five.
The Labour Party won the election, but Fielding soon departed winning agency DDB, saying her personality, which she describes as "noisy", was not a cultural fit with the "quiet" agency.
So how will Fielding approach her new job? She claims she prefers the boardroom to the lunch circuit and is not likely to "get pissed" with colleagues. "I am not a very clubby person," she adds. "But if you do your job well, and you have good strong relationships with the people you need to, then that is the key."
Lapsed reader
In terms of her initial impressions of The Independent, Fielding admits she is a lapsed reader, but describes the paper as "thought-provoking, intelligent and stylish".
She says: "I read The Independent when it first came out. I have been a fairly loyal reader of The Guardian, but it was starting to get on my nerves as it was getting anti-business. Then, after talking to Simon, I checked out the product."
Fielding's early thoughts on how the two papers can generate more revenue include ramping up advertising across the sports pages, and sponsoring future giveaways with the newspapers.
While some media observers question the feasibility of these ideas, Fielding has been recruited to challenge the orthodoxy and that is what she intends to do. She is undaunted by her move, denies that she will bring in new staff, and says she is more likely to be involved in strategy than trading in advertising space.
While some believe her move into the newspaper world may not last long, Fielding argues she has a proven track record in working in male-dominated environments, pointing to her work with automotive clients.
She says: "I have worked in boys' clubs before, and I generally find that they are more impressed by business savvy than gender."
CV
2008: Commercial director, Independent Newspapers
1998: Managing partner, Ogilvy
1996: Board director, BMP DDB
1989: Board director, Lowe Howard Spink
1986: Account director, Abbott Mead Vickers.
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