Regional publisher Northcliffe Media has lured two new senior managers to the company from rival print and broadcast media.

Mark Sainsbury, the current publisher of Newsquest’s West Wales division, is to take over as managing director of Northcliffe’s Cornwall and Devon Media stable of weeklies.

In a separate move, Tony Dowling is moving from his job as managing director of Real Radio Wales to the same position at South West Wales Media, which includes the South Wales Evening Post.

The moves come despite the continuing uncertainty over the future of the company, which could be sold to a new consortium headed by David Montgomery.

The changes were triggered by the recent departures of Cornwall and Devon Media MD Trevor Lee and South West Media Group boss Andrew Blair.

Blanche Sainsbury moved from South West Wales Media to succeed Andrew, thereby creating the vacancy for Tony who began his career as a sales executive with Northcliffe in 1991.

As MD of Real Radio, he was responsible for leading its expansion into North and Mid Wales to become the only commercial national radio station in Wales with almost 500,000 listeners every week.

Said Tony:  “I’m so excited to be coming home to work for one of the most respected voices in local media. I feel privileged to lead the team at this pivotal time and I’m looking forward to working with everyone at South West Wales Media.”

Mark also started his career at Northcliffe working in newspaper sales at the Western Morning News and the Plymouth Evening Herald in 1991.

He joined Newsquest South West in 2001 and, after senior management roles in newspaper sales and advertising, moved to Wales, which culminated in his appointment as Publisher of West Wales in January 2011.

Said Mark:  “I am delighted to be returning to the West Country to work with the team in Cornwall and Devon Media.

“The business has a portfolio of incredibly strong weekly titles and websites and I’m looking forward to working with everyone in the business to ensure we continue to produce great products for both readers and advertisers.”

Mark joins the business on 3 December 2012 while Tony will take up his role in the New Year.

Northcliffe Media executive director Rich Mead said: “These are two great appointments for Northcliffe Media. Both Tony and Mark bring a huge amount of local media experience and I am sure they will both do a great job further developing our businesses in Wales and Cornwall.”