The election of the new WAN-IFRA Board members took place on Sunday, 4 May 2025, at the annual World News Media Congress, the premier gathering of global media leaders, where over 950 news media executives, editors and innovators from over sixty countries meet for high-level engagement on the future of the industry.
Three new members were elected to serve on WAN-IFRA’s Executive Board. Mariam Mammen Mathew, CEO of Manorama Online (India), was elected Vice President of WAN-IFRA. David Walmsley, Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail (Canada) and Pia Rehnquist, Business Area Manager at Bonnier News (Sweden), will join the association’s Executive Board.
At the same meeting, nine media executives from Belgium, Germany, Kenya, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Slovakia were appointed to the WAN-IFRA’s Supervisory Board. They include Monicah Ndung’u, Chief Operating Officer – Strategy, Partnerships & External Affairs at the Nation Media Group (Kenya), Jan Svoboda, Chief Executive Officer at News Television TA3, representing the Slovak Print and Digital Media Association, and Chan Yeng Kit, CEO SPH Media (Singapore). Luciano Stulin, Head of International at Ips Group (Germany), President of the DistriPress Advisory Board, and its Vice President, Raphaëlle Casta, Sales & Marketing Director at 7Days Media Services (Switzerland), will represent DistriPress within WAN-IFRA. Randi S. Øgrey, Executive Director at MBL (Norway), incoming Chairperson of the WAN-IFRA Media Freedom Board, will represent the Board within WAN-IFRA. Andreas Gierth, Head of Production and Strategic Procurement at Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung (Germany), will represent the WAN-IFRA Printers Forum Board as its newly elected chairperson. François le Hodey, CEO of IPM Group (Belgium) and President of the European Newspapers Association will represent ENPA at the WAN-IFRA Supervisory Board.
The WAN-IFRA Board and management team extend their deepest gratitude to the five Directors retiring from the Board for their distinguished service over the past few years: Maximo Garrido, Managing Director at Corporación Bermont (Spain), Agnes Kalekye, CEO of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (Kenya), Jean-Pierre de Kerraoul, President of Groupe Sogemedia (France), Alexej Fulmek, CEO of Petit Press (Slovakia), and Martha Ramos, Chief Editorial Officer at Organización Editorial Mexicana – OEM (Mexico).
David Walmsley Appointed President of the World Editors Forum
David Walmsley, Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail (Canada), has been confirmed as President of the World Editors Forum (WEF), following a board meeting held in Kraków on Sunday, 4 May. He will join WAN-IFRA’s Executive Board.
David Walmsley, President of the World Editors Forum (WEF) at WAN-IFRA
Walmsley takes over from Martha Ramos, Chief Editorial Officer of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), who has led the Forum with distinction over the past three years. In line with WEF’s governance guidelines, Ramos will remain a key part of the executive team as Deputy President, supporting Walmsley during a transformative era for journalism worldwide.
“It is an honour to take on the presidency of the World Editors Forum at this turning point in history,” said Walmsley. “Journalism has arguably never been more essential—or more under threat. Working alongside editors from every continent, we can thicken our collective line of defence and reinforce a global network that highlights what is truly lost when journalism is attacked.”
Beyond his role at The Globe and Mail, Walmsley is a pioneering figure in global journalism. He is the creator of World News Day, a worldwide initiative that brings together over 800 news organisations across five continents to showcase the value of journalism and how it changes lives and strengthens communities.
He is also the co-creator—alongside Professor Anthony Feinstein—of the Toronto Moral Injury Scale for Journalists, the world’s only psychometric tool designed to identify moral injury in journalists covering traumatic and ethically complex stories.
As an executive producer, Walmsley has brought journalistic narratives to screen through acclaimed documentaries including Nike’s Big Bet and Shooting War, which explores the work of frontline conflict photographers.
He is a trustee of the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship and serves on the steering committee of the Sir Harold Evans Fellowship for Investigative Journalism. His investigative work continues, including his long-standing inquiry into the 1994 RAF Chinook helicopter crash in Scotland that claimed all lives on board.
Outgoing President Martha Ramos reflected on her term, highlighting the mounting pressures facing the industry: “These past two years have revealed the increasing complexity of our profession. Through the work of our colleagues at the World Editors Forum we’ve witnessed the global impact of the pandemic’s aftermath, the rise of social media, the disruptive force of artificial intelligence, and the spread of sophisticated disinformation campaigns—often driven by powerful interests. The challenges to journalism have grown, but so too have the risks. Efforts to discredit our work and dismantle independent media from the highest platforms are intensifying. Only within the World Editors Forum does one truly grasp the full scale of these threats across every corner of the globe. It has been an absolute privilege to serve.”
CONTACTS AND INQUIRIES
WAN-IFRA Supervisory Board and Annual Report: Vincent Peyrègne, CEO WAN-IFRA. vincent.peyregne@wan-ifra.org
World Editors Forum: Cherilyn Ireton, Executive Director WEF at WAN-IFRA. cherilyn.ireton@wan-ifra.org
ABOUT
WAN-IFRA Supervisory Board has a community-engagement role with decision-making power. That power is shared and distributed among all constituencies and communities represented by WAN-IFRA’s Advisory Boards, Regional Committees and Association representatives sitting on the Supervisory Board. WAN-IFRA’s General Assembly of Members elects members of the Supervisory Board.
WAN-IFRA Executive Board has an oversight and stewardship role. It advises and guides the management and has expertise in finance and management. It helps senior management make decisions and run the organisation and its operations. It is designed to help the organisation focus on the activities that contribute most to its overall objectives as defined by the Supervisory Board, use its resources effectively, and ensure that WAN-IFRA is managed in the best interests of its stakeholders. WAN-IFRA Supervisory Board elect members of the Executive Board
The World Editors Forum, part of WAN-IFRA (the World Association of News Publishers), is the leading global network for chief and senior editors, dedicated to defending press freedom, strengthening newsroom leadership, and advancing journalism worldwide.
The 76th World News Media Congress (WNMC), taking place from the 4th to the 6th May 2025 in Kraków, Poland is organised by WAN-IFRA in collaboration with the Agora Media Group. The WNMC is the leading annual event for media leaders, bringing together over 950 editors and executives from over 60 countries to discuss challenges and opportunities for the global news media industry. This year’s Congress brings together our flagship events, including Digital Media Europe, to provide three summits, workshops and access to international experts and case studies; something for everyone interested in Mastering Media’s New Playbook.
WAN-IFRA, the World Association of News Publishers, is the global organisation of the world’s press. Its mission is to protect the rights of journalists and publishers around the world to operate independent media. We provide our members with expertise and services to innovate and prosper in a digital world and perform their crucial role in society. It derives its authority from its global network of 3,000 news publishing companies and technology entrepreneurs, and its legitimacy from its 40 member publisher associations representing 18,000 publications in 120 countries.