The chief executive of online classifieds company 701Search, Mr Julian Tan, will soon head Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) new digital division.

It was announced last month that two new SPH divisions - a digital division and a media strategy and analytics division - will be created as part of an internal restructuring exercise. The digital side will oversee the company's new media operations.

Mr Tan will depart from his current position upon the appointment of a successor and a successful handover.

He joined 701Search as CEO in August 2008. Under his leadership, the company has grown from a start-up in Singapore to a regional company with a strong South-east Asian presence - operating online classifieds sites in Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Headquartered in Singapore, it is co-owned by shareholders SPH, Norway's Schibsted Media Group and telecommunications group Telenor, also from Norway.

Before joining 701Search, Mr Tan was assistant vice-president of business development and corporate planning with SPH's corporate development division and then chief operations officer at SPH Search, a subsidiary of SPH.

The chairman of 701Search, Mr Robert Steen, thanked Mr Tan for his "dedication" and "never-ending hard work".

Mr Tan described his time at 701Search as "exciting" and "fulfilling", adding: "I had the opportunity to work with many talented individuals.

"I am confident that this strong team will be able to strengthen 701Search's market-leading positions and bring it to the next level of growth."