BRENT HOBERMAN and Martha Lane Fox, the prominent co-founders of lastminute.com, will today step back from day-to-day management of the online travel and entertainment group after the appointment of a chief operating officer.
Ian McCaig, a former senior executive of Nokia, the Finnish mobile phone group, has been appointed to take hands-on control of Britain’s best-known internet company.
Mr McCaig said that his appointment was intended to give Mr Hoberman and Ms Lane Fox more time to “realise the strength of the company without having to get involved in micro-management”.
He added: “Martha is all about energising the organisation and helping the outside world understand its potential, and Brent is a visionary for this kind of business.”
Mr McCaig spent almost six years with Nokia, for which he was managing director of its UK operations before taking charge of its relationship with Hutchison 3G, the mobile group controlled by Li Ka-shing, of Hong Kong.
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Mr McCaig’s initial challenge in lastminute, which is in its best shape since its flotation in 2000, will be to integrate European acquisitions made during the past two years.
He said: “My job will partly be to manage the growth and ensure that all of these people feel like they are part of the same organisation.”
Lastminute’s share price of 210p, although well below the peak of 380p, is ahead of last year’s low of 31p. Last November the company emerged into operating profitability. It is set to announce its third-quarter profits tomorrow.