Metro International recruits CEO and president

by Charlie McCathie, Brand Republic 26-Jul-07, 10:55

LONDON - Metro International, the global newspaper group, has appointed Per Mikael Jensen as its CEO and president, effective from November this year.

Jensen is currently chief executive officer of TV2 Denmark, the public service channel, prior to which he held the post of global editor-in-chief of Metro International.

Jensen, 45, studied at the Denmark School of Journalism, before embarking on a career in the media industry that has spanned 21 years. He has held management positions with the Danish newspapers Politiken, Jyllandsposten and MetroXpress.

Pelle Tornberg will leave his position as CEO and President on the July 31. Metro International's chief operating officer Chris Spalding will act as interim CEO, and chairman, Dennis Malamatinas, will assume the role of executive chairman until Jensen takes up his post.

Malamatinas said: "Jensen brings a long and broad experience from the media industry, a strong commitment to creating unique and successful content and a recent track record of improving profitability in TV2 Denmark."

Jensen will be based in London for the role. He said: "Metro is a young company, with many young and talented employees and strong positions in a number of large advertising markets. It has significant potential to further develop its position."

Metro International publishes in more than 100 cities across Europe, America and Asia, including Paris, Amsterdam, New York and Hong Kong.

In the UK, there are various editions of Metro but these are not published by the European firm. In London the paper is published by Associated Newspapers.

In London the paper is published by Associated Newspapers, which has a commercial partnership with Metro International, allowing the companies to sell advertising space to each other.