Inquirer president appointed to WAN-Ifra executive board

Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Daily Inquirer president and chief executive officer Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez has been appointed to the Executive Board of Directors of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-Ifra).

Based in Paris and Frankfurt, with regional offices in Chennai, Singapore and Mexico City, WAN-Ifra is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization whose mission is to protect the rights of journalists and publishers around the world to operate independent media.

With formal representative status at the United Nations, Unesco and the Council of Europe, it derives its authority from its global network of leading news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 80 national association members representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries.

WAN-Ifra provides its members with expertise and services to innovate and prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in society.

Romualdez is one of the four members making up the executive board. The others are Sinead Boucher, CEO of Stuff Limited, New Zealand; Valdo Lehari Jr., publisher and CEO of Reutlinger General-Anzeiger, Germany; and Toyosi Ogunseye, head of West Africa at BBC World Service Africa, Nigeria.

In a statement, WAN-Ifra also announced the election of 10 media executives to its Supervisory Board, as well as the reappointment of 25 others who will serve a new term office in the same body.

All 39 media executives were elected during the association’s annual general assembly of members held on Sept.16.

“The appointees add diversity to the Board of Directors. Their experience in and commitment to journalism will add much to our deliberations on the way forward for the media,” said Fernando de Yarza Lopez-Madrazo, president of the Henneo Group in Spain and current WAN-Ifra president.

“We are thrilled to have these distinguished publishers and top media executives join the WAN-Ifra Supervisory and Executive Boards at this time and assist the global news publishers association in its way forward,” De Yarza added.

The 10 executives elected to new terms in the Supervisory Board terms are Boucher, Ogunseye; Jennifer Bertetto, president and CEO of Trib Total Media; Guy Black, group deputy chair of The Telegraph Media Group Limited; Juan Jaime Diaz, commercial and corporate affairs director of El Mercurio, and president of Asociación Nacional de la Prensa, Chile; Majella Gallagher, managing director of Sogemedia and president of European Newspaper Publishers’ Association; Donna Hall, president and CEO of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Paul Peckels, CEO of Saint-Paul Luxembourg and president of Association Luxembourgeoise des Medias d’Information; and Pia Rehnquist, Head of Content at Bonnier News Local.