The newsroom is the business!
MEET THE LINE-UP OF EXCELLENCE
Kasper Lindskow is Head of AI at JP/Politikens Media Group and a research fellow focusing on effective and responsible AI at the Copenhagen Business School. He has been working on developing and implementing effective AI systems for news since 2020, while also organising major events such as “AI in Media” (in Denmark) and the “Nordic AI in Media Summit” in collaboration with the Nordic AI Journalism Network.
Ladina Heimgartner has been a member of the Group Executive Board of Ringier AG since February 2020 and, as Head Global Media, is responsible for Ringier’s media business at Group level. She has been CEO of Ringier Media Switzerland since September 2023.
Pietro Supino was elected to the Board of Directors in 1991 and took on the Position of Publisher and Chairman in 2007. As such he manages the holding company and is chairman of the boards of directors of the three group companies Goldbach, 20 Minuten and Tamedia.
Janne joined Amedia, Norway’s leading media group, in 2013 as an Editorial Developer. The department’s primary focus is to empower Amedia’s 120 newsrooms by enhancing their editorial content, expanding their reach to new audiences, and fostering deeper engagement with existing readers.
David was appointed Chief Digital Publisher of the Reach Group plc in July 2022. He was previously Deputy Editor (Audience and Customer) with responsibility for developing the digital audience. In his new role, he is expanding his role to include readership diversification, with an immediate focus on the youth audience and video strategy. Reach plc is one of the UK’s largest publishers, with a turnover of £615.8m in 2021, with a portfolio that includes daily newspapers such as The Mirror, Express and Star, magazines such as OK!, local newspapers such as Manchester Evening News and Liverpool Echo, and online titles such as Live and Fish4Jobs.
Nadia a rejoint Tamedia en Suisse en 2019 en tant que Product Manager. Elle a ensuite dirigé l’équipe de produits de contenu et est devenue responsable de la gestion des produits de développement de contenu en 2023. Elle est également responsable du nouveau laboratoire d’IA de Tamedia. Avant son passage chez Tamedia, Nadia était rédactrice en chef en ligne chez Somedia à Coire dans les Grisons, et journaliste à Radio Grischa.
Verena Krawarik is responsible for innovation management at the Austria Press Agency Group and head of the internal innovation hub APA-medialab. Together with her team she published a study on the status of AI in the Austrian Media Landscape and coordinates a variety of research and development projects in the field of AI, Data and Verification.
Kristin is the Country Manager for Norway at Podme, a podcast subscription platform owned by Schibsted. Previously, she worked as Head of Strategy and Project Management for Schibsted News Media and as a Strategy Consultant for Accenture. She holds a Master of Science in Economics and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).
Emilie has been working at VG since 2014, and before taking her current position as Head of Audio, she was the news editor for the podcast department. She has a Bachelor Degree in Journalism from Volda University. Emilie has previously made podcast documentaries for «Alt fortalt» and has been a producer for podcasts in crime and daily news.
Rianne is a passionate entrepreneur that started her career in tech-startups (Rocket Internet) and private equity (Anthem Asia) in an unusual location: Myanmar. Spending most of her career as the link between fast, efficient international organizations and the ever-changing local challenges of emerging markets, she is always looking for laser sharp focus and quick, efficient execution.
Clara Soteras is a SEO for News Publishers and Digital Strategy Consultant working with media organizations and companies across Spain, Europe, Latin America, and the United States. She brings a strong product-oriented and strategic vision to media innovation, audience development, and newsroom transformation projects.
Liv Moloney is the Head of Video at The Economist, leading a talented team of journalists creating engaging videos for subscribers in The Economist app and its 60 million followers across social media. Formerly the Head of Social Media, she joined The Economist in 2021 and is central to the evolution of a 180-year-old brand in an increasingly digital world. Liv formerly spent five years as a broadcast and digital journalist at Sky News.
Jyrki Utriainen is Editor in Chief at Etelä-Saimaa in Finland. Before that he was Managing Editor at Karjalainen Oy in North Karelia in Finland. He restructured the newsroom of the regional publisher based on the Table Stakes methodology.
Jeremy has more than 30 years in the media publishing industry, leading digital change in newsrooms across the UK and managing the complex transition from print to digital reader-revenue access models, and now in how to integrate Generative AI into newsrooms.
He is a certified executive-level coach and is a founding director of his leadership development and training advisory business, Chrysalis Transformations – for established and emerging leaders.
Hannes Vollmuth is the Senior Editor for Digital Strategy and Innovation at Süddeutsche Zeitung. Since 2018, he has been orchestrating SZ’s digital transformation, focusing on process and workflow innovation, and shaping editorial strategy. In 2023, he led SZ’s team in the WAN-IFRA Table Stakes Europe program. Currently, he is driving the editorial product strategy and development of SZ’s front page, working in close collaboration with all product departments. He is also an Executive Fellow in the Media Transformation Challenge (MTC) program at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Fabian Heckenberger is the Managing Editor and Senior Editor for AI at Süddeutsche Zeitung, where he leads the newsroom’s strategy team with a growing emphasis on the journalistic applications of Generative AI (GenAI). His team is responsible for coordinating editorial initiatives and projects designed to enhance SZ’s success in acquiring and retaining digital subscribers.
Alex Senn is Head of Social Media & Community at Ringier Medien in Switzerland. Before taking over this task, Alex worked five years as Head of Social Media at Ringier Axel Springer in Zurich and as project manager Social Media at Ringier Axel Springer.
Laura Crimmons heads the departments of Growth Management (Media) & Audience Development (Media) at Ringier in Switzerland. She has been in charge since December 2023. Before that, Laura worked in several positions at Ringier like Deputy Group CMO & Head of Audience Development, Acting Group Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Digital Manager.
Barnaby is Deputy-Editor-in-Chief at Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) in Zurich, Switzerland. Before being appointed in September 2024, he was Head of NZZ Visuals.
Alban Mazrekaj is Head of Content Technology and Format Development at NZZ, one of Switzerland’s leading news organisations. He leads cross-functional teams focused on building user-centric content experiences and rethinking editorial workflows.
Previously, he served as Lead Product Manager for New Audience Development at NZZ, driving initiatives across newsletters, podcasts, and third-party platforms. Before joining NZZ, Alban co-founded the SaaS start-up Mailian and worked as a Senior Customer Journey Specialist at Tamedia. Earlier in his career, he held roles at Lufthansa in digital advertising and data monetisation, and at Swiss International Air Lines in e-commerce and product development.
Alban is a guest lecturer at ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences and a Sulzberger Fellow at Columbia University.
Alberto Marello was born in Alessandria in 1987. He holds a degree in Communication from the Faculty of Humanities at the Università del Piemonte Orientale. He was a student of Marco Giorcelli and worked as a contributor and editor for Il Monferrato. He has also worked as an author and speaker for Radio 6023. Since 2018, he has been the Editor-in-Chief of Il Piccolo di Alessandria, and in 2019, he became Editorial Director of the newly formed Gruppo Soged (Il Piccolo, Il Novese e L’Ovadese, AlessandriaNews, NoviOnline, AcquiNews, CasaleNotizie, OvadaOnline, TortonaOnline and ValenzaNews). Alberto is leading its editorial development and digital transformation processes. He collaborates with the Università del Piemonte Orientale, the Università di Genova, and several high schools to promote digital literacy and the theories, techniques, and evolution of information.
Kerstin Hasse is a swiss journalist, podcast host and moderator. She was a member of the editorial team at Tamedia in Zurich for over three years. Before that, she was deputy editor-in-chief at annabelle, Switzerland’s largest women’s magazine. Kerstin Hasse is a passionate leader for digital storytelling and has also been campaigning for more equality in the industry for years.
Nashua Gallagher is Lead Product Manager for the Subscriptions Mission at NZZ. Reporting to the executive board, she leads a cross-functional team commited to building digital subscription products that enriches the reader experience and drives conversionability of NZZ’s digital media portfolio. Previusly, Nashua was global audience conversion and content strategist specialized in driving subscriptions in the digital environment. She was the Head of Customer Journey Management at Neue Zürcher Zeitung, based in Zurich and responsible for subscription growth. Nashua was previously based in Hong Kong, as Head of Marketing Strategy, APAC responsible for paid B2C subscription growth for the Financial Times. Nashua is a passionate integrated marketer with over a decade of experience in media, having also previously worked at The Economist and Cartoon Network (Turner Broadcasting Systems).
Stéphane’s professional DNA is rooted in 25 years of BBC international journalism. He went into broadcast media after a pan-European MBA that took him from France to the UK and Germany. He has spent more than half his life abroad, including post-apartheid South Africa and likes to call himself a serial foreigner. He puts warmth, authenticity and performance at the centre of his coaching work. He enjoys looking at events and the world from as many perspectives as possible and very much welcomes coaching clients from diverse frames of reference. He has co-designed and co-facilitated workshops focusing on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within and outside the media industry.
Lea Nowack joined Tamedia in 2020 as a member of the Business Development team and has since transitioned to her current role as a Project Manager in the Content Development team. Her key responsibilities include developing innovative editorial formats and products, enabling editorial teams to effectively deliver journalistic content to readers, and improving editorial workflows and tools.
Stefan Wabel leads the Verlegerverband SCHWEIZER MEDIEN which is the national media association of Switzerland. Before joining the association he worked many years in the news media industry.
Thomas Jacob is the Chief Operating Officer at WAN-IFRA, responsible for global operational management and business development. With nearly four decades of experience in the media industry, Thomas has held key leadership roles across various regions. Early in his career, he relocated to Singapore to establish IFRA’s presence in Asia, successfully founding IFRA Asia and IFRA India.
Oliver Zihlmann is co-head of the Tamedia Investigative Unit. He is a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and works with the Collaboration «Forbidden Storys» and the «Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project». He is a lecturer for Investigative Reporting at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. His work was awarded the Zurich Journalism Prize, the Media prize for quality journalism and the Swiss Press Award.
Andrea works at UNESCO headquarters in Paris on coordinating the implementation of the UN Plan of Action on Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, including the administration of the Global Media Defence Fund, and backstopping media assistance in countries in crises.
Cecilia Campbell is a Swedish media journalist with over 20 years experience reporting on the news publishing industry internationally. She is the co-founder and program editor for Innovate Local and has worked with WAN-IFRA for the past 25 years, including as the co-leader of its reader revenue executive programme as well as running international study tours and workshops. In 2018 she authored the report Engaged Readers Don’t Churn – Retention Lessons for Digital Subscriptions.
Contact: c.campbell@wan-ifra.org
Niklas is Swedish and has 35 years of experience of business development, tech and digital transformation particularly for local news media, in roles such as CEO, board member and management consultant. Early in his career he worked at IFRA in Germany and in France, and for the past 30 years he’s had key positions in developing and running services in ed and ad tech for Swedish local media.
Contact: n.jonason@wan-ifra.org
Andrea Kučera is a political journalist based in Zurich. Until April 2024, she worked for several years as a correspondent in the Swiss capital Bern, covering national politics for the weekly newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. Prior to that, she was a correspondent for the French-speaking part of Switzerland for the daily edition of the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ). Since the end of summer 2024, she has been working as a freelance journalist. Andrea is a member of the board of the Swiss section of Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based non-profit organisation that defends the freedom, independence and pluralism of journalism worldwide.
Caroline has spent more than 15 years as a journalist, reporting on everything from international politics to the murky world of organized crime and corruption. Today she is an editor/investigator for UK-based investigative outlet Finance Uncovered focused on exposing illicit finance and environmental crime. Caroline started out as a financial reporter for Dow Jones and the Wall Street Journal in London and Sydney, covering commodities and banking. After several years as a regional editor for AFP in Paris and Hong Kong, she was appointed the agency’s bureau chief in Yangon, where she led coverage of the opening salvos of the Rohingya genocide. Moving into investigative journalism, Caroline spent four years leading OCCRP’s work on how organized crime and corruption harm the environment, from emissions fraud and land-grabbing to wildlife trafficking and timber. This array of award-winning stories have led to the arrest of government officials, assets being seized and contributed to international sanctions. In her current role with Finance Uncovered, Caroline works on follow-the-money investigations that expose the inner workings of illicit financial schemes and environmental crime.
Edward Pittman has over 18 years of experience working in the field of press freedom and journalist safety, having led Open Society Foundations’ work in the area. He has provided strategic support and carried out research on behalf of organisations including the ACOS Alliance, UNESCO, Maharat Foundation, Media Defence, WAN-IFRA and Media Foundation West Africa. He holds a BA in Philosophy and Politics and an MA in Law, Development and Globalisation.
Yuri joined Media Defence, an international NGO providing legal support to journalists and independent media, in 2023. He is a lawyer with almost two decades of experience in human rights litigation, advocacy, and research. He worked at Validity Foundation in Budapest, the International Centre for the Legal Protection of Human Rights (INTERIGHTS) in London, and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw, among others.
