---
title: Go native!
description: Time for true digital leaders at publishers
---

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# Go native!

[Alan Hunter](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/author/alan-hunter)  07 March 2025

 3 min read

**Time for true digital leaders at publishers**

They’re changing the guard at the FT’s palatial Bracken House headquarters. [John Ridding announced this week that he was stepping down](https://tomorrowspublisher.today/editors-picks/john-ridding-steps-down-as-financial-times-ceo/) as chief executive of the Financial Times Group after a stellar 20-year career.

Obviously we will never know the internal machinations behind his move, so we must take at face value Ridding’s statement in which he said: “It seems clear that a new phase of disruption is under way, with challenges ranging from generative AI to generational change and new reader habits and demands. So, this feels like a good moment for a new phase of leadership.”

This does indeed seem like a good moment and it’s clear that a new kind of leadership skills are needed. The days when “digital” was an add-on to the main print business are disappearing into the rearview mirror. This should usher in a new generation of digital-native news industry leaders. And it will be a hugely positive thing for the industry.

I’m not saying that print-natives can’t adapt to the requirements of the new era – I am one, and I like to think I have – but it’s just a bit harder to re-learn the habits of a lifetime.

I have sat in executive meetings when digital matters have been discussed with appropriate seriousness and rigour, but the conversation only really came alive when we moved on to print issues. This was a subject in which everyone was confident in their opinions and experience. You could feel the relief in the room.

The news industry needs more people who are curious enough and confident enough to plot new courses at this moment of disruption. It will be very interesting to see who Nikkei, the FT’s owners, appoint as Ridding’s successor.

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## [Was Bezos right?](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/was-bezos-right)

[Read more](https://www.hbmadvisory.com/media-hunter/was-bezos-right)

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