Royal Mail hands top role to Smith

by Ed Kemp, Marketing 11-Mar-08, 08:45

LONDON - Royal Mail has promoted group strategy director, Alex Smith, to the role of strategy and commercial director.

Royal Mail's UK marketing director, Alex Batchelor, who was ranked 28th in Marketing's 2007 Power 100, and sales director, Mark Thomson, will now report directly to Smith. Royal Mail claims the pair's roles are unaffected by his appointment.

Smith will now oversee Royal Mail's review of both its above- and below-the-line ad accounts, which are currently held by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and Proximity respectively.

A Royal Mail board member, Smith joined as group strategy director in 2004. Before this, he worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company for 17 years.

Batchelor, a former Unilever and Orange marketer, joined Royal Mail in 2005.