A MEDIA mogul who had a hand in shaping the BBC has been appointed chairman of the board of directors at a Knutsford publisher.

Texere Publishing Ltd, based at Booths Hall, has welcomed Peter Phippen, who has more than 30 years of experience in the media industry, on board.

Peter has held board positions in the UK, USA, India and Australia. For many years he was the board director of BBC Worldwide Ltd, for whom he developed and ran BBC Magazines; he was also president and CEO of BBC Worldwide Americas Inc, launching a number of TV channels and chairing a joint venture with Discovery Inc.

Peter is now a director of Immediate Media Co, a large private-equity backed magazine and digital company, and chairman of Sift, a venture-capitalist backed, pure-play digital B2B company.

He holds a number of other non-executive positions and has also founded East West Relations Ltd to help western media companies identify and secure opportunities in India, where he was born.

Peter said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the talented team at Texere. I like working with businesses that do things a bit differently. This is a young company which is already shaking up life sciences cross-platform publishing and developing a reputation for outstanding content.

“There’s a great culture of collaborative working, editorial focus and commercial ambition, which is great to see in what many perceive as a traditional market, so they will grow quickly.”

Established in 2012, Texere Publishing is an international cross-media publisher specialising in the scientific, technical and medical markets. The company has a portfolio of four successful brands – The Analytical Scientist, The Ophthalmologist, The Medicine Maker, and The Pathologist.

“Peter has a vast wealth of experience in media and publishing and we’re delighted to welcome him as chairman of our board,” says Andrew Davies, CEO of Texere Publishing.

“Texere has achieved some tremendous milestones already and our first magazine, The Analytical Scientist, recently celebrated its second birthday. I expect 2015 to be a very exciting year for us.”