Free daily newspaper group Metro International announced that it assigned the position of its first ever global head of marketing to Christian Quarles, who joined the firm in 2004, Marketing Magazine reported today.

Quarles will be in charge of Metro International's first worldwide branding campaign that is commencing in 2011, after a decision was made to forgo the "traditional" concept of hiring a creative agency to help with the task. He pointed out that the team would consist of the "best freelancers" of the industry, Brand Republic wrote.

"One of my most important tasks will be to lead this brand team in order to turn Metro into a global premium brand - highly recognised by readers, advertisers, employees and competitors alike," Quarles added.

The freesheet is published by Metro International in over 100 prominent cities across the globe, aside from the United Kingdom, where Metro is owned by Associated Newspapers. Quarles (right) previously worked for international skincare corporation Beiersdorf and Swedish tabloid Aftonbladet. He is currently the marketing director of Metro in Sweden.