O'Neill, a former employee at The Independent, takes up the role on 22 September and will report to Daryl Fielding, commercial director of The Independent.
She replaces Jo Redfern, who is to end her 16-year stint with the titles at the end of the year to take up the role of general manager with UCAS Media, the advertising and marketing arm of university admissions service UCAS. One key task facing O'Neill will be to ensure the continuation of The Independent's commercial partnership with UCAS, which is up for renewal next year.
Rival publishers Associated Newspapers and News International are thought to have bid for the tender last time it was issued.
During her tenure at Hachette, between 2003 and February 2009, O'Neill had responsibility for regional, classified and inserts advertising. She started her career at Centaur Communications and later worked as recruitment sales manager at The Telegraph and recruitment advertising manager at The Independent.
O'Neill is married to Adrian O'Neill, a former commercial director at The Independent.
O'Neill's appointment comes as Independent News & Media closes on a settlement with bondholders and banks, whereby Tony O'Reilly will halve his near-30% controlling stake to extend loan repayment terms. Last month, the company persuaded creditors and banks to give it more time to renegotiate its debts. A financial standstill for the bonds was extended to 25 September.
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