Axberg, who recently spearheaded SCMP’s relaunch of scmp.com, confirmed his departure was effective from 28 September, bringing an end to an eight-year tenure with the company. Sources indicated SCMP group executive director Kuok Hui Kong was the front-runner to take the reins.
Representatives from the SCMP did not respond to requests for comment by Media’s press time.
Axberg said his departure was sparked after reaching an impasse with management over the future of the company’s online business model. Axberg said he had strongly advocated the SCMP’s online site becoming free for users, with advertisers driving revenue.
This would have been a shift which reflected strong online ad growth since he took over in 2000, in which the business grew from US$35,000 to $1.2 million in revenue in its first year, with current advertising revenues now in excess of more than $6 million.
But Axberg noted management had opted to retain a subscription-based model with a view to protecting the revenue of the company’s print edition. “It was really the case that this was as far as I could take them strategically having to work in those parameters, so now I’m looking forward to new opportunities in digital media.”
He declined to comment on the specifics of his next move.
