Simon Newman/Reuters John Ridding, the current chief executive of The Financial Times, was promoted to lead the FT Group that includes The Financial Times.

John Ridding will take over as chief executive of the FT Group, a subsidiary of Pearson that includes The Financial Times and half of The Economist, the company said Tuesday.

Mr. Ridding, who has served as chief executive of the Financial Times since 2006, will replace Rona Fairhead. Ms. Fairhead said last month that she would be leaving the London-based media conglomerate in April. Her resignation followed the departure of Marjorie Scardino, who had served as chief executive of Pearson for nearly 16 years.

A long-time newspaperman and Asia hand, Mr. Ridding previously served as editor and publisher of the Asian edition of The Financial Times, and chairman of Pearson in Asia. He spearheaded the development of the newspaper’s Chinese language Web site and introduced China Confidential, a source of business intelligence related to Chinese trade.

Pearson’s high-level departures have sparked speculation that the company could decide to sell The Financial Times. The FT Group has been slimmed down in recent years to include a handful of core assets.

Mr. Ridding’s background and appointment signals that the group is firmly centered on the business daily, with its distinctive bisque-colored newsprint, and its prominence in fast-growing Asian markets. Both Bloomberg L.P. and Thomson Reuters have emerged as likely buyers. A Pearson spokesman has said the newspaper is not for sale.

Article source: http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/18/new-leader-for-pearson-unit-that-includes-financial-times/?partner=rss&emc=rss