Community media group Archant, publishers of the Cambs Times, Ely Standard, Wisbech Standard, EDP, Norwich Evening News and Mustard TV, has appointed Jeff Henry as its new chief executive.

Mr Henry, who succeeds Adrian Jeakings, will join the business on September 1.

He was most recently the CEO of Filmflex Movies, a joint venture between Sony Pictures Television and The Walt Disney Company, which he developed into one of the largest white label, video on demand (VOD) businesses in Europe.

FilmFlex Movies powered the film VOD services for companies like Virgin Media, EE and TalkTalk.

He steered its successful development over three years and oversaw its sale to Vubiquity in May.

He has also held senior management positions at a number of companies including Scottish TV, NYNEX and London News Network.

After that he successfully launched a number of new cable channels and digital platforms, first as CEO at Granada Sky Broadcasting and then throughout Europe for the Hallmark Channel.

He then joined ITV as the CEO of ITVC where he was responsible for building a business focused on local digital and consumer revenues.

He said: “Archant has a fantastic heritage, an exciting vision, powerful local brands and a great ambition to take the business forward. I am delighted to have the opportunity to be able to lead the business at this time, as media habits change and our communities demand news, information and other content across multiple platforms. I look forward to working with the team at Archant in making it the most progressive local media business in the UK.”

Announcing the appointment, Simon Bax, Archant chairman, said: “We are delighted that Jeff, with his breadth of experience and expertise across the world of multi-media and content and his outstanding commercial track record, is going to lead the business forward.

“With our powerful portfolio of newspapers, magazines, websites, mobile apps, events and our newly-launched local TV station, this business has a great opportunity to be the most innovative local media business in the UK and to provide our consumers and commercial partners with new ways to engage with all the content we create. We have an exciting time ahead and I look forward very much to Jeff joining the team.”

• Archant is a privately owned media company serving geographical and specialist interest communities across a wide range of media and employing around 1,600 staff.

It is the fifth largest regional newspaper publisher in the UK with titles in East Anglia, London, Kent and the South West, publishing 1.6 million copies a week in print and reaching six million readers [a month] online. Its portfolio of more than 50 news brands includes the Eastern Daily Press in Norfolk, the East Anglian Daily Times in Suffolk and the Ham & High in London.

•