After some deliberation, News Corp veteran Ish Davies has announced his retirement from News Corp.

Currently managing director of the company’s South Australia business unit, he looks back on a 36-year career, and forward to a retirement he has been contemplating “for some time”.

But he’s not going yet: Davies will remain until the end of the year to work with recently-appointed Adelaide Advertiser editor Gemma Jones (pictured), and for a replacement to be found.

The Welsh native has held senior roles with News in NSW, West Australia and South Australia since arriving in Australia to join the classified advertising team in Melbourne in 1987. Since then, he has been advertising director of both The Australian and the Daily Telegraph in Sydney between 1995-2001, managing director of the Sunday Times in WA from 2002-2010 and managing director in South Australia from 2010-2021.

News Australasia executive chairman Michael Miller praised his “extraordinary” contribution to News and the communities he worked in. “He has enormous energy, a sharp eye for innovation and product development and, above all, great irreverence and good humour,” he said.