RTÉ has appointed Neil Leyden as head of RTE.ie after a public competition. Formerly senior product manager at Independent News & Media (INM), he will become “the product owner” of RTE.ie. He will lead strategy and oversee performance of the website. With over 5.5 million unique browsers a month, RTE.ie claims to be Ireland’s leading digital media service.
The site comprises online news, sport and entertainment content for people in Ireland and overseas. Leyden will lead development of the site’s next phase. Formerly a lecturer at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and Dublin City University (DCU), he was a board member of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) and the Irish Internet Association (INA).
He was also a project advisor for WorldIrish.com and a founder of the International Digital Services Centre. He joins a digital team that runs RTÉ’s various online platforms, including RTÉ Player, GAAGO, the RTÉ News Now and RTÉjr apps and RTÉ Archives. Almost half of adults in Ireland use at least one of RTÉ’s digital services every week.
Leyden takes up the role in November.
