Michael Doorly has been appointed interim group chief executive at Independent News & Media (INM), the company confirmed on Friday.
Mr Doorly, who had previously held the roles of company secretary and chief risk officer, has worked for the media group for more than 20 years.
His appointment comes following the departure of Robert Pitt.
Mr Pitt left after talks between the company, his representatives and those of INM chairman Leslie Buckley to resolve a boardroom row over an abandoned deal for Newstalk that has dogged it for more than a year.
Mr Buckley is an associate of INM’s largest shareholder, Denis O’Brien.
Before joining INM, Mr Doorly worked in Technicon Ireland, now Bayer Diagnostics, and KPMG. He is a qualified chartered accountant and chartered director.
The company chairman, who made no comment after Mr Pitt’s exit, said in a statement that he wished Mr Doorly “every success in his new role”, adding that he would “very much look forward to working with him in driving the business forward”.
INM’s share price dropped 4.63 per cent on Friday and was trading at €0.103 on Ireland’s benchmark Iseq index by the close of the markets.
The media group publishes the Irish Independent, Sunday Independent, Herald and Sunday World titles and has a 50 per cent interest in the Irish Daily Star.
