JP/Politiken Media Group, the owner of Dezeen, has appointed Benedict Hobson and Wai Shin Li as co-CEOs of the magazine. This means that a dual leadership now succeeds founder, former CEO and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs, who passed away unexpectedly on 30 June. Hobson and Li, who previously held the positions of “chief content officer” and “chief revenue officer”, had initially been appointed deputy CEOs following Fairs’ death. Now they are to lead the company permanently. Rupinder Bhogal, Marcus Fairs’ widow, herself a founding director and board member of Dezeen, will continue to work with Hobson and Li as part of the senior management team. In addition, an editorial director and a sales director are to join the senior management team. Hobson and Li have worked alongside Fairs and Bhogal for 11 years at Dezeen, which was acquired by Danish media company JP/Politiken Media Group last year. During this time, the online magazine’s team grew from seven to almost 50 staff* today. Revenues increased tenfold and the number of visitors rose to three million per month.
As reported on Dezeen, Hobson said: “Marcus is an immeasurable and irreplaceable loss to the world of architecture and design, but he leaves an incredible legacy with Dezeen. We are determined to build on that legacy and ensure that the unique platform Marcus created continues to thrive.” Li added: “We strongly believe that Dezeen has an important role to play in continuing to set the global agenda for architecture and design. Together with JP/Politiken Media Group, we have ambitious plans to grow the business and look forward to the challenge.” Added Bhogal: “I am incredibly pleased that Ben and Wai have become co-CEOs of Dezeen. They have been an important part of Dezeen from the beginning and, together with Marcus and myself, have made Dezeen the successful company it is today. I couldn’t think of anyone better to succeed them and I know Marcus would have thought the same.”
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