Outsider picked as CEO of Auto Trader

The company behind Auto Trader, Britain's biggest second-hand car classifieds website, has snubbed the leading internal candidate for the chief executive's job, appointing an outsider after a seven-month search.

Trevor Mather, the chief executive of information technology consultancy Thoughtworks, will join Trader Media Group as CEO in June. He worked at Accenture for a decade and has been at US-owned Thoughtworks since 2002.

His appointment raises doubts about the position of Zillah Byng-Maddick, TMG's former chief financial officer. He has been interim chief executive since September.