Her.ie and HerFamily.ie, the two female-focused media brands owned by Maximum Media are to operate as standalone businesses within the wider group according to the company.
As part of the move, the company has also appointed Gillian Fitzpatrick to the role of publisher with full editorial and commercial responsibility for the platforms.
Fitzpatrick, who started her career in 2007 as a newspaper journalist, says: “The modern newsroom is changing and the role of Publisher reflects that change ambitiously. Operating as a separate business unit will allow Her to develop and grow even further; we’re already dominating female-focused publishing in Ireland – this is us deciding that we’re going to advance even further.”
According to Niall McGarry, founder of Maximum Media and JOE Media: “Her is by some considerable margin Ireland’s biggest platform for Irish women – 2.6m unique monthly users – and in the past we just haven’t shouted about that enough. This brand has had six massive years of growth; we’re proud of that, we want to talk about that, and we are absolutely ready for this next stage of Her’s progression. In order to support Gillian in her new role of Publisher, we’ve created a dedicated sales team that sits alongside editorial focusing solely on Her and HerFamily. They will be driving our partnerships with key brands who want to reach out to younger women in Ireland.”
John Burns, Maximum Media’s Managing Director, adds: “As Ireland’s leading distributed business we are home to four of the largest digital media brands of their kind in Ireland; JOE, Her, HerFamily, and SportsJOE. Together they benefit from the synergies of being part of the wider group. This has undoubtedly helped Her to grow to market-leader in the female digital publishing space over the past six years. The time is right for the brand to operate as a separate business unit with Gillian Fitzpatrick at the helm for what will be an exciting new chapter for both Her and HerFamily.”
Maximum Media employs 100 people at its Dublin office, along with 60 in London and Manchester. It has been named by the Financial Times as one of the fastest-growing companies in Europe.
