The Evening Standard is undergoing its second change of leadership in the space of eight months with the impending exit of Rich Mead, its interim boss.

Sky News understands that Mr Mead, who was appointed to run the London newspaper’s commercial operations after Charles Yardley’s departure earlier this year, is to leave the company.

The freesheet, which saw its daily distribution fall below 300,000 in October for the first time since it scrapped its cover price in 2009, remains one of Britain’s best-known media brands.

It is majority-owned by Lord Lebedev, the Russian-born media tycoon.

Mr Mead has also served as the Evening Standard’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer since November 2020.

Prior to that, he was the group operations director for ESI Media, the holding company for both the Standard and The Independent, which is now a digital-only news brand.

The Evening Standard is chaired by Paul Kanareck, a former Guardian executive.

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In August, the Financial Times reported that Lord Lebedev had provided additional loans to the newspaper, having bought it 14 years ago for £1.

The Evening Standard is loss-making, although The Independent made a small profit last year.

A spokesman for the Evening Standard declined to comment on Mr Mead’s employment status.

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