
Spratling that pulled the company out of administration.
Reader's Digest was put into administration by its US parent in April due to the size of its pension fund deficit, but the 72 year-old brand was saved through a subsequent management buyout and a £13m investment from venture capitalist firm Better Capital.
In addition to the hiring of Titmuss, former marketing director at The Mortgage Lender and Bank of Scotland, Vivat Direct has appointed James Mallinson, former communications director of UTV, as publishing director for the magazine.
Mallinson joins the two existing publishers for music, videos and books, Katherine Rose, and publishing director for enterprises, Catriona Lasselin.
The company has also hired Carrie Hutchison, former business development director of Gatwick Airport, as finance director and Carleen Brennan joins from Arcadia as head of digital services.
The appointments will boost the existing management team, led by Doug Nethery director of legal and company secretary. Nethery and Hutchison will join Titmuss on the executive board of the holding company Vivat, which is chaired by Sean Cooper, ex-chief operating officer of Gatwick Airport.
Gill Hudson, Reader's Digest's editor, was appointed to the general interest magazine in October 2009. She was also responsible for the relaunch of the Radio Times.
Reader's Digest is the fourth biggest selling monthly magazine in the UK after Saga Magazine, Good Housekeeping and Glamour, and includes features on health and gardening.
In July the publisher launched in a bid to reach a wider audience. In September the company also launched a new website, readersdigest.co.uk, which, the company reports, has seen traffic growing 50% month on month.
In addition to the new appointments, Reader's Digest has invested £100,000 into an insight study of its core demographic of 45- to 60-year-olds, which will interview 1,300 people in that age group to identify key areas of interests.
Reader's Digest publisher James Mallinson said the research was also inspired by recent Office for National Statistics survey.
Mallinson said: "The latest data shows that the population growth of 45- to 60-year-olds will increase by 20% over the next decade, so the study is a way of finding out how we can serve this group better."
The title recorded an ABC average net circulation of 402,290 for the six months to June 2010.
David Titmuss, chief executive of Reader's Digest said: "The future of Reader's Digest is now secure. We are fully financially stable and are geared for growth for the first time in many years.
"I am lucky to have an extremely talented and highly experienced group of people around me, all of whom are eager to ensure that the company continues to go from strength to strength."