Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror has today named Simon Fox as its new chief executive in succession to Sly Bailey.

The appointment of the former HMV boss was confirmed this afternoon following a meeting of the company’s seven-strong board.

Simon, left, will be paid a salary of £500,000 a year plus a bonus entitlement of up to £375,000 and will take up his position a week on Monday, 10 September.

He will also receive a one-off joining grant or “golden hello” of Trinity Mirror shares worth £600,000.

Ms Bailey stepped down in June after nearly 10 years at the helm of the national and regional publishing group.  Finance director Vijay Vaghela has been running the company in the interim.

Trinity Mirror said Simon’s appointment followed an extensive search conducted in conjunction with Egon Zehnder which involved consideration of a wide field of external and internal candidates.

Chairman David Grigson said:  “Simon will provide the strategic leadership the company needs. His experience gives him a current and in-depth understanding of how consumers’ habits are changing and the technology that is driving these changes.

“He is a great team player and leader and his skills and experience perfectly complement those of the existing executive team.”

Simon commented: “I am delighted to be joining the Trinity Mirror team. I have been enormously impressed by the people I have met so far and look forward to starting shortly.

“Whilst the Group’s current financial performance is robust, we will need to continue to evolve the business to meet the changing needs of our customers.”

Simon, 51, has been chief executive at HMV since 2006 having previously been chief operating officer of Kesa Electricals plc and chief executive of Kingfisher’s e-Electricals business.

He founded Office World and served as its managing director until joining Kingfisher in 1998.

Laurence Shaw, assistant organiser for the National Union of Journalists, called on Simon to make a clean break with his predecessor’s strategy.

He tweeted:  “Simon Fox faces a choice. Carry on cutting and destroying quality like Sly and all newspaper bosses. Or invest and believe in products.”