New director of publishing Richard Furness will lead the unit with the aim of creating "a standalone, self-sustaining, revenue-generating business unit", GNM said. Furness will take responsibility for newspaper operations, revenues and production in London and Manchester.
GNM publishes theguardian.com as well as The Guardian newspaper six days a week and The Observer on Sundays.
The company said the unit "will ensure that print remains a crucial part of what the organisation does" and "allow GNM to maximise the reach and influence of its newspapers".
Furness, who will report to Guardian Media Group (GMG) chief financial officer Darren Singer, has worked at GNM for 16 years, most recently as director of brand and product marketing.
In that time he has overseen marketing initiatives including the launch of The Guardian's subscriber scheme, Glastonbury sponsorship and a range of digital product launches and newspaper redesigns.
Furness said: “This is an amazing opportunity to focus on driving the reach and influence of our unique newspapers and to ensure that print continues to be a core revenue stream for our business.
“The Guardian, Observer and The Guardian Weekly are a key part of our heritage and this new division will ensure they remain an important part of our future.”
The reorganisation has also seen the creation of two other new units. The first will focus on GNM’s relationships with readers and will be lead by David Magliano, who has joined the GNM Executive Committee in a new role as marketing, membership and consumer revenues managing director.
He will be specifically responsible for the consumer-facing elements of the GNM business globally and is tasked with building new and deeper relationships with readers and focusing on The Guardian’s membership strategy. He will report to GMG chief executive David Pemsel.
The appointments of Furness and Magliano are with immediate effect and GNM is currently recruiting for a new chief revenue officer to head up the third new unit, which will bring together GNM's ad revenues, Jobs and Guardian Labs businesses.
This unit will be responsible for building long-term business relationships directly with clients and agencies globally.
Pemsel said: “The Guardian's purpose has never been more valued and important, but the means of engaging with our global audience is changing all the time.
“This means we need to think about how we can capitalise on today’s changing media landscape while also moving quickly to seize future opportunities.
“I’m confident that the structures we are putting in place today will enable us, over time, to decrease our dependence on display advertising and to accelerate the diversification of our revenue streams.”
The Guardian had an average circulation of 172,418 between March and August 2015, down 7.4% year-on-year.
GNM employs more than 1,500 staff and its turnover for the year ended 29 March 2015 was £210.9m, marginally up from £208.5m the previous year. The increase was attributed to a rise in digital and new product revenue.
