AABA Altaba Inc

By Rory Gallivan 

LONDON--Daily Mail & General Trust PLC named Boston Consulting Group's Paul Zwillenberg as its new chief executive, a move which could reinforce the U.K. media group's efforts to grow its digital business.

Mr. Zwillenberg, 49, currently heads BCG's media unit and is set to take over on June 1, DMGT said on Thursday. He replaces Martin Morgan, 56, who is stepping down earlier than expected after previously saying he planned to retire at the end of 2016, after 27 years at the company.

DMGT, which publishes the Daily Mail newspaper and Dailymail.com website, as well as several business publications, said Mr. Zwillenberg has "worked closely with DMGT for 20 years" and was for a period managing director at dmg media Digital, a division of DMGT.

The company's appointment of a CEO with a strong digital background illustrates how newspaper publishers are focusing on generating more revenue from Internet advertising to compensate for declines in print circulation and advertising income as media consumption and marketing dollars shift online.

DMGT reported a 1% revenue decline in its consumer media division to GBP188 million ($271 million) for the three months ended Dec. 31, 2015, as a GBP5 million rise in MailOnline's advertising revenue to GBP23 million failed to offset declines in print circulation and advertising revenue.

Mr. Zwillenberg "has a long history of advising a wide range of companies drive digital led growth," said analysts at brokerage house Liberum. His appointment "suggests that DMGT will focus on digital-led growth", including driving revenue growth at Dailymail.com in the U.S., they said.

Mr. Zwillenberg, a graduate of Duke University in North Carolina, has focused on the impact of digital technology in media, technology, and telecom sectors since joining BGC in 2010, according to the consultancy's website.

His work there has involved co-authoring reports on digital media including "How U.S. Consumers Value Online Media" and "Improving Engagement and Performance in Digital Advertising."

News of his appointment comes after DMGT has confirmed its involvement in a possible acquisition of the U.S. Internet company Yahoo! Inc. DMGT said it is "in discussions with parties who may potentially be interested in Yahoo", though DMGT itself hasn't submitted a bid to buy Yahoo!

DMGT has been looking to exploit the increasing popularity of its celebrity-focused website Dailymail.com in the U.S. DMGT said in its latest full year results that it was focused on building its U.S. audience "alongside gaining traction with its U.S. advertiser base."

Though it is most famous for its tabloid newspaper, founded in 1896, and website, much of the company's revenue comes from business publishing and information services. DMGT's Euromoney Institutional Investor unit publishes Euromoney magazine, Institutional Investor and MetalBulletin while its RMS unit is a specialist in catastrophe modeling.

Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 12, 2016 06:07 ET (10:07 GMT)

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