Appointing a transformational Chief Commercial Officer at Hearst UK

3Search Executive began working with leading information, services and media company, Hearst, as they entered a significant period of commercial transformation across the UK and EMEA. Given our track record placing senior commercial and digital leaders in complex, high-growth environments, we were appointed to lead our first retained executive search with the organisation. 

The culmination of this particular search was a transformational Chief Commercial Officer appointment. This appointment accelerates commercial diversification and drives strategic revenue growth across their portfolio. 

Appointing a transformational Chief Commercial Officer at Hearst UK

The story of Hearst UK

Hearst is a leading media and content business operating across publishing, digital, entertainment and commercial partnerships. As the media landscape continued to evolve, Hearst identified the need to modernise and accelerate its commercial and digital strategy, shifting away from traditional revenue models toward a more diversified, data-driven, and digitally aligned approach. 

To achieve this, the business required senior commercial leadership capable of unifying fragmented functions, redesigning the go-to-market model, and accelerating revenue diversification. 

Challenge: Redesigning the commercial function

This was a high-stakes mandate with a direct impact on the company’s future commercial direction. Hearst required a Chief Commercial Officer who could: 

  • Drive commercial transformation across product, advertising, partnerships, and digital revenue streams 
  • Shift the organisation from traditional media revenue models toward a more strategic and data-driven commercial approach 
  • Build a more aligned and empowered commercial organisation 

To achieve their goals, they were seeking candidates who could bring fresh thinking from high-growth consumer digital, entertainment, or platform-led businesses. The brief demanded a leader capable of operating at board level while driving hands-on transformation across a large, established organisation. 

Solution: Specialist executive search support

Hearst required a specialist executive search partner with deep networks across content, entertainment, sport, digital media and consumer technology.  

3Search Executive was selected for our rigorous market mapping methodology, structured leadership assessment approach, and proven ability to deliver complex senior mandates in the sector with pace and precision. 

Before the search began, our partners ensured that everyone was aligned by: 

  • Refining and sharpening the brief  
  • Introducing a structured scorecard methodology to reduce bias and improve decision clarity 
  • Acting as an independent advisor throughout internal deliberations 

Dominic Warman led the search, delivering a fully retained, end-to-end process, which included: 

  • A detailed market map of 250+ individuals, each individually engaged 
  • A competency-led framework co-designed with the CEO and HR Director 
  • Structured leadership assessments, including value alignment screening 
  • Strategy presentations to test transformation capability 
  • Weekly in-person steering meetings 
  • Full candidate and stakeholder management throughout 

The process was designed to combine pace with rigour, ensuring both breadth of market coverage and depth of assessment. 

Outcome: Transformational commercial leadership

Hearst successfully appointed Alex Unitt as Chief Commercial Officer. 

Alex brings a compelling blend of traditional media, retail, and commercial transformation experience, providing diversification of thought and capability aligned to Hearst’s next phase of growth. 

The appointment positions Hearst to accelerate commercial diversification and drive strategic revenue growth across its portfolio. 

Katie Vanneck-Smith, CEO
Working with 3Search on the appointment of our new Chief Commercial Officer was a truly collaborative process. They ran the search with real rigour, mapping the market forensically and guiding us at every stage. It was a demanding search, delivered at pace and with exceptional care. We couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome or the way we got there.
John Athanasiou, Director of People & Culture
This was a complex and high-stakes hire, and 3Search ran the process with structure, discipline and transparency. The quality of candidate evaluation was consistently strong, and the communication cadence meant there were no surprises. It felt like a true partnership.

Candidate Thought Count: 1

Hear from our successful candidates...

The process with 3Search was exceptional from start to finish. Dominic invested a huge amount of time with me across every touchpoint (in person, on the phone, and throughout the preparation stages), ensuring I was always well informed and fully supported. His clarity, communication, and deep understanding of Hearst’s transformation helped me appreciate the true scale of the opportunity. It was the most seamless and thoughtfully managed executive search experience I’ve encountered.
Alex Unitt, Chief Commercial Officer

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Michael Judkins Customer Experience & Growth Director

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