Jasper Scott is taking on "one of the biggest challenges in the industry" in succeeding Peter Barber as IPC Media manufacturing director.


The Cond Nast production director joins IPC on 19 March. It is something of a homecoming for the 43-year-old, who joined IPC's editorial training scheme in 1980 and left the group four years later.


Scott, who has been at Cond Nast for seven years, three of them as production director, said he was looking forward to working with IPC pre-press development and quality control manager Debbie Read, who was also in the running for the job.


"We have already been working closely together on things like the Publishers' Curve," he said. "We have a very healthy respect for each other."


He admitted he would have a "different set of priorities" at IPC because of the group's huge number and breadth of titles.


"Having gone through the whole process against such strong opposition makes me very pleased," said Scott, who added that his time at Cond Nast has been the happiest of his career.


His most recent major task was selecting Cooper Clegg as the printer for the group's March launch, Glamour.
IPC chief executive Sly Bailey said Scott's "experience and reputation" made him the ideal man for the job.


"Our market-leading status within the consumer publishing sector has allowed us to negotiate the very best deals in the industry with our print and paper suppliers," she added.
Barber had gained a reputation for cost savings and standardising production throughout the group.


Scott will report directly to Bailey. Speculation has begun about his replacement at Cond Nast, and Scott said his deputy, production manager Sarah Davidson was a "pretty strong contender".


"There's certainly a history of promoting from within," he added.


Story by Gordon Carson