Job: chairman, Local World
Age: 64
Industry: publishing, digital media
New entry
David Montgomery pledged to kickstart a regional newspaper fightback with his 107-title group, Local World.
The nascent media company – launched last year with a combination of papers from Daily Mail & General Trust's Northcliffe Media and Iliffe News & Media (and also backed by Trinity Mirror) – has made a fair start at doing just that.
The group could make profits of up to £30m this year, reflecting an upturn in fortunes among local and regional newspaper publishers.
Montgomery, a former News of the World and Today editor and Mirror Group chief executive, previously founded European publisher Mecom, which he left in 2010. His mantra for Local World: "Local content, local sales, local management".
Headed by chief executive Steve Auckland, a former executive at DMGT, Local World's titles include the Nottingham Evening Post, Leicester Mercury and Bristol Post and had a total turnover of £273m last year.