John is the new man at the helm of regional newspaper giant Newsquest (Hampshire), publisher of the Southern Daily Echo.

John Banks, the previous regional managing director of the company's south-west region, took up his new role, based at Southampton, this week. Newsquest (Hampshire) covers publishing centres at Southampton, Winchester, Andover, Basingstoke and Salisbury. Titles published by the centres include two of the oldest paid-for weeklies in the UK - the Hampshire Chronicle and the Salisbury Journal - as well as the Southern Daily Echo, the Andover Advertiser and The Basingstoke Gazette.

Mr Banks, 56, has spent 31 years in newspapers, joining the Liverpool Daily Post and Echo in 1974 as a property sales representative. His previous posts have included classified manager, advertisement manager and then marketing manager at Cambridge Newspapers.

During his time at Thomson Regional Newspapers, he was assistant managing director at Aberdeen and then assistant managing director at Cardiff. He joined South London Guardian Newspapers in 1993 and was subsequently appointed managing director of Newsquest (South London), then, in 2000, regional managing director of Newsquest (South West).

In a separate promotion, Andrew Sullivan, previously regional finance director of Newsquest (South London), has been appointed regional finance director for Hampshire and Dorset.

Newsquest, a Gannett company, is the UK's second largest regional publisher with more than 300 titles, including 17 dailies, a weekly circulation/distribution of 10.8 million copies and 11 print sites. The group, which employs more than 9,000 people, is also a leading Internet player.