Jeremy Deedes: out of retirement
Former Telegraph Group managing director Jeremy Deedes has come out of retirement to guide his former titles through their expected change of ownership, writes Dominic Ponsford.
Deedes, the son of Telegraph elder statesman Bill Deedes, said: “The Telegraph’s been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, it’s not something that you can really say no to.”
He replaces Dan Colson, a close associate of Lord Black, who resigned as chief executive on Tuesday.
The move follows investment bank Lazard’s Tuesday night deadline on bids for the Telegraph Group and parent company Hollinger International.
Deedes went on a tour of the offices of the Telegraph titles on Wednesday.
He said: “There aren’t as many smiles as there were, so I want to bring a few smiles back to people’s faces.”
He added: “It’s the staff that are for sale, they are the assets and it’s important they are looked after.”
Express proprietor Richard Desmond, Daily Mail and General Trust, the Barclay brothers, US newspaper giant Gannett and German publishing group Axel Springer are among those reportedly bidding for the Telegraph titles.
Hollinger has not ruled out the possibility the sell-off will not go ahead.
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