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Mike Holman and Lee Thompson Promoted at Diamond Comics UK in John Hitchen's Absence

Published Sun, 15 Jul 2018 12:11:04 -0500

Last updated Sun, 15 Jul 2018 12:11:16 -0500

There appear to be some significant changes this past week from Diamond Comic Distributors UK.

Longstanding General Manager John Hitchen, has been in charge of the operation since 1992 when Diamond bought Titan Distributors from Nick Landau and renamed it Diamond UK.

However, he has taken a leave of absence in recent months and now it has been decided to promote from within.

Another longstanding employee and friend to Bleeding Cool, Mike Holman, will become Interim General Manager and Lee Thompson will become Interim Deputy General Manager with immediate effect.

Mike joined Diamond after years of running a comic book retail store and has been employed by the Company since 2007 in a Purchasing and Marketing role. While Lee has been with Diamond UK since 1999 and has been Head of the Customer Services and Order Processing departments.

Mike and Lee will both also continue with their current duties and responsibilities for the time being.

Tim Lenaghan, Diamond US VP of Purchasing commented "We are very fortunate to have an experienced and loyal senior management team at Diamond UK, from whom there is an abundance of talent, who are able to step up, when such circumstances arise. I am sure that, along with all of the staff, Mike and Lee will take the Company forward".

Mike stated "We are in an exciting time in our industry, full of opportunities and I am looking forward to the responsibility to take Diamond UK to the next level".

Lee added "I am looking forward to this new stage in my Diamond career and I'm confident that Mike and I can continue to build, from the fantastic position already established for Diamond UK".

Steve Geppi, Diamond owner and Chief Executive Officer stated, "on behalf of the entire Diamond US and UK staffs I want to thank John Hitchen for all his contributions to Diamond UK. No one has played a larger role in the success of Diamond UK than John. We are, however, very confident we are in good hands with the leadership of Mike, Lee and the rest of the Diamond's UK management team and experienced staff".

Diamond UK is estimatesd to make up 10 to 15% of Diamond's overall business, but for reasons still unclear, their figures never factor into the company's reported statistics.