Rob Munro-Hall carries an air of determination about him.

And it is likely the just-appointed managing director of the newly created Bauer Consumer Media will need all the drive he can muster to take the former Emap publishing giant to new heights.

The business, which employs about 700 people at its sites in Lynch Wood and Orton, has just been through a gruelling seven month sale process at the end of which the Peterborough business and the Emap radio divisions were sold to the Germany-based Bauer for a mind-boggling sum of £1.14 billion.

And Mr Munro-Hall readily states that the immense amount of work involved in the sale would inevitably have been a major distraction from running the business for its top executives.

He said: "There have been a lot of difficulties. A lot of time has been spent by senior management going through the sales process.

"There would have been lots of time spent answering questions and seeking data for prospective buyers. People responsible for running the business were away doing other stuff."

But Mr Munro-Hall who has spent his entire career in the media, including spells at The Sun and as editor of a number of Emap's top titles, is keen to inject a new buzz into a company, which he is confident still has great potential.

He said: "There are many positives. Bauer would not have paid out so much money for the business if it had not expected to get more growth from it.

"Bauer is a high-powered and well-funded company that still has a love for print.

"The purchase was the best possible result for the business here. This is a really strong business and I am looking forward to growing it."

Mr Munro-Hall said the company had many strengths.

"These include its magazine brands, many of which are household names.

"We have fantastic people, from the creative, sales and commercial to senior management."

But Mr Munro-Hall is also aware of the difficulties that lie ahead – in particular the impact of the internet on readership and advertising revenue and the seemingly ever increasing cover price of many magazines.

He said: "Our recipe for success is the editors and teams of people who understand their audience. Our customers are changing and we have to change our products to meet their needs.

"The internet is enabling people to access information in different ways and this gives us a really strong opportunity to develop the business."

He added: "This is a standalone company within the Bauer empire. We publish 36 titles and we are always looking to produce new titles. There are lots of digital opportunities coming along and we are looking to make what we do even better.

"I don't think our magazines are expensive. If a reader has a huge passion for a hobby then a price of around £4 is a normal price."

Although Mr Munro-Hall is just a week into the job, he has already identified four key target areas that are central to the future success of the company.

He said these were to make sure the magazines are as a good a product as possible, enhance the advertising sales offering, improve the digital service and change the culture of the organisation, ensuring everyone is excited about his plans for the future.

Unlike his Emap predecessors, one thing Mr Munro-Hall is likely to get to improve the firm's performance is time.

A family-owned company, Bauer is not at the mercy of fickle investors demanding a near instant return on their investments.

He said: "Bauer is in a position to take a long-term view. We still have to be results-orientated but there is room for profits not to be so high one year and for them to grow more in future years."


CV – Rob Munro-Hall

AGE: 41
FAMILY: Married with three girls.
LIVES: Fotheringhay, near Oundle
EDUCATION: Comprehensive school and college and then straight into journalism.
FIRST CAR: Renault 5.
NOW DRIVES: BMW.
LAST HOLIDAY: Port Douglas, Australia, where he was working at the time.
PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND: Journalist at the Daily Star and The Sun and then joined Emap as editor of MCN. He went on to edit CAR Magazine and became managing director of Motorcycling before being promoted to managing director of EMAP Australia, managing director of EMAP Men's, Music and Film and now group managing director of Bauer Consumer Media, Active and Automotive, in Peterborough.


About Bauer Consumer Media

Its top titles are with the business in Peterborough, producing five weekly titles, two fortnightlies, 28 monthlies and one quarterly.

It operates 27 websites and for the current financial year revenue from its digital operations is expected to be 15 per cent up on 2006/07.