A four-times regional daily editor has been appointed as managing director of one of the UK’s biggest corporate communications agencies.

Neil Fowler, left, who edited the Lincolnshire Echo, the Derby Telegraph, The Journal and the Western Mail, will take up his role at Headlines after joining the company two years ago as publishing director.

His appointment follows a boardroom shake-up in which Peter Doherty has become chief executive of the organisation, which supports some of the world’s biggest companies in communicating with their employees.

As part of the new management structure, Neil will enhance service to existing clients and continue to build the company’s reputation within the internal communications and employee engagement sector.

“Neil will dedicate his energy and experience to consistently producing excellent work on behalf of our customers and their staff,” said Peter.

“Much of our work is about delivering media, where creative thinking and internal communications expertise need to be underpinned by enormous professional discipline and dexterity to ensure print publications, video and digital channels and social media activities are consistently on time, within budget and of an exceptional standard.

“Neil is drawing on years of experience as an accomplished media manager, editor and journalist to make sure our team has the resources, organisation and skills that are needed to provide our clients with the best service available anywhere in internal communications.”

Prior to joining Headlines, Neil conducted a two-year research fellowship at Nuffield College, Oxford looking into the state of the UK regional press.

During a lecture after completing the project in November 2011, he called for the industry to be returned to local ownership and for more dailies to convert to weeklies.

As well as editing four UK regional dailies, Neil has also edited the consumer magazine Which? and leading Canadian daily the Toronto Sun.

He began his career as a reporter at the Leicester Mercury.