The board of directors of the Haaretz Group on Monday announced the appointment of Guy Rolnik, TheMarker founder and editor-in-chief, as deputy publisher of the group.

Rolnik will assume a role in all the areas of responsibility handled by the publisher, Amos Schocken, and will lead the formulation and implementation of the group's strategy.

Schocken, Haaretz publisher, said Monday: "I am 62 years old and Guy is 38. I think that the Haaretz Group needs to prepare for a changing of the guard, especially given the reality of the media business, which is in a state of constant flux of unprecedented dimensions. Guy brings proven abilities of dynamic, creative leadership to the task, alongside consummate journalistic talent.

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"I shall continue to serve as publisher of the group and to chair the board of directors, but gradually, Guy will assume more responsibility, while I shall focus on certain areas," Schocken added.

"In the last several years Rolnik has spearheaded the establishment of TheMarker, as an entrepreneur, a journalist and, in practice, as publisher. TheMarker's wide-ranging activity has become the central arena for business journalism in Israel, and has become a major growth driver for the Haaretz Group as a whole.

"At TheMarker, Mr. Rolnik, proved that changes in the media world can be turned into opportunity, and that rapid growth can be achieved even during this challenging time for the industry. I am convinced that we can do the same regarding the other sections of the Haaretz Group."

As well as assuming the responsibilities of deputy publisher, Rolnik will continue to serve as editor-in-chief of TheMarker.

Rolnik joined the Haaretz Group as a business reporter in 1990. In 1998 he was named the daily paper's chief economics editor, and took a seat on the paper's editorial board. In 1999, he played a major role in the establishment of TheMarker, which began as an online venture and later began publishing a monthly magazine as well as a daily printed paper.

The 2005 launch of the print version of TheMarker - a brand born in cyberspace - significantly boosted sales and the subscriber base of the daily paper. During the first two years after the launch, the number of Haaretz subscribers grew by more than 15 percent, and advertising revenues increased by more than 50 percent.

Rolnik holds a BA in Economics from Tel Aviv University, an MBA from Tel Aviv University and NorthWestern University, Chicago, and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

The Haaretz Group includes the daily newspaper Haaretz, a chain of local weeklies and nationwide classifieds, Ha'Ir, the GraphpoPrint and Anya publishing houses, the Websites TheMarker and Haaretz - both in Hebrew and English, and the Hebrew site "City Mouse."

The group also has holdings in walla!, as well as the English edition of Haaretz newspaper, which it co-owns together with the International Herald Tribune, a subsidiary of the New York Times.