General Manager | Major Austrian Publisher
Background
Our client was a media publisher with headquarters in Austria running a newspaper publishing, printing and associated company. The newspaper was the oldest pillar and published 28 regional editions. Special editions covering key topics were published several times a year. The company ran by business principles and values relying on exceptional cooperation amongst owners, management and employees.
The Need
Our client, and their long-time General Manager (GM)/Editor-in-Chief had mutually decided to dissolve their relationship. Therefore, our client was looking for a new top executive to lead the company alongside a secondary GM. The replacement position of Editor-in-Chief was already assigned to the former Deputy. The GM role operated as a speaker of the management board and had main responsibilities for the following areas: strategy, sales, distribution, marketing, and personnel. They needed someone with strong knowledge of the Austrian media environment, experience in media, sales, marketing or similar areas of management consulting. Leadership and negotiation skills, entrepreneurial thinking and a team-oriented style with superior communication skills were named as required competencies of the potential candidate. As the separation from the previous GM occurred unexpectedly, it was imperative that a new GM was found quickly..
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