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´óÏó´«Ã½ Worldwide, the commercial arm of the ´óÏó´«Ã½, has appointed Chris Davies as Commercial Director, ´óÏó´«Ã½.com, to lead the development of the international edition of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s award-winning website. Davies will be responsible for defining and delivering ´óÏó´«Ã½.com's consumer and commercial proposition across ´óÏó´«Ã½ News, Sport, Weather, Business, Technology and other factual and lifestyle sections. This will include ´óÏó´«Ã½.com’s recently launched international travel section, bbc.com/travel.

Reporting to Luke Bradley-Jones, EVP and MD ´óÏó´«Ã½.com, Davies will join from British Airways where he’s Head of Digital Marketing, overseeing the airline's digital marketing strategy and all digital marketing channels. This has included ba.com, which he successfully relaunched in 2006, mobile platforms and BA’s first major foray into social media.

Davies joins ´óÏó´«Ã½.com at a crucial stage in its evolution, since its launch as a commercial website ex-UK in 2007. The site now attracts 54m* visitors every month outside of the UK and has secured over one thousand global advertising partners.

Davies will be responsible for the delivery of ´óÏó´«Ã½.com’s multiplatform news, lifestyle and factual content to new platforms following the huge success of the ´óÏó´«Ã½ News international iPhone and iPad app that has now had over 1m downloads, outside of the UK. The business launched its local market strategy this summer with the ´óÏó´«Ã½.com edition for North America. Davies will be responsible for the roll out of future market editions.

Commented Bradley-Jones: "Chris has an extremely strong track record of delivering both audience and revenue growth during his time at BA and we’re thrilled he’s coming on board. The combination of his digital marketing expertise and new product development is a winning formula for ´óÏó´«Ã½.com, as we continue to shape the site for audiences all around the world and realise new commercial opportunities."

Davies said: "I'm delighted to be taking up this new position with one of the most widely respected digital publishers in the world. There is a huge amount of potential with ´óÏó´«Ã½.com, both commercially and as a content hub for consumer interaction, and I'm thrilled to be leading this strategy to take the business to the next level."

Davies will take up the newly created position in November. Prior to joining British Airways in 1999, he worked at STA Travel.

This week, according to EMS Europe, the survey that measures audience reach among the top 20% of households across Europe in relation to income, ´óÏó´«Ã½.com is the most popular broadcast news website in Europe (UK excluded).

*Source: Omniture January – June 2010

Alex Fulton