The International News Media Association (INMA) elected 18 executives to its Board of Directors at its annual business meeting in New York on 15 May 2019. Damian Eales, chief operating officer, publishing of News Corp Australia has been appointed the president for two years.
Eales has worked across retail, financial services, and media industries, including one of Australia’s leading retailers and leading banks. The Sydney-based Eales joined News Corp in 2013 and has served as strategic partnerships director, group marketing director, and managing director of metro and regional publishing before assuming his current role in 2017. He serves on the NewsMediaWorks Board of Directors in Australia. Eales joined the INMA Board of Directors in 2014, spending the past two years as vice president.
Maribel Perez Wadsworth, president of the USA Today Network and publisher of USA Today, based in McLean, Virginia, USA, was elected first vice president. She is scheduled to ascend to the INMA presidency in 2021. Espen Egil Hansen, editor-in-chief and chief executive officer of Aftenposten in Oslo, Norway, was elected second vice president. Sandy Naudé, chief executive officer of African Community Media for Independent Media in Cape Town, South Africa, joins the Executive Committee as treasurer and will serve a three-year term. Eduardo Garces, general manager of Bogota, Colombia-based El Espectador, becomes immediate past president after serving the past two years as president.
The twelve executives elected to Board terms include Alexandra Beverfjord, editor-in-chief and chief executive officer, Dagbladet, Oslo, Norway, Michael Doorly, chief executive officer, Independent News and Media, Dublin, Ireland, Griet Ducatteeuw, publisher, De Standaard and Het Nieuwsblad, Antwerp, Belgium, Lotta Edling, editorial director of development, Bonnier News, Stockholm, Sweden, Maria Eugenia Ferre Rangel, chairwoman of the board, GFR Media, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sanjay Gupta, chief executive officer, Jagran Prakashan, New Delhi, India, Chris Janz, managing director publishing, Nine, Sydney, Australia,Debby Krenek, publisher, Newsday Media Group, Melville, New York, USA, Gary Liu, chief executive officer, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong, China, Rika Swart, chief executive officer, Media24 Print Media, South Africa, Anthony Tan, deputy chief executive officer, Singapore Press Holdings, Suzi Watford, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, The Wall Street Journal, New York, USA.
Meanwhile, Gerold Riedmann, managing director of Austria-based Russmedia, joined the INMA Board of Directors in recent months as the association’s Europe Division president.
Five executives are departing the INMA Board, including Ross McPherson, managing director of McPherson Media Group in Shepparton, Australia, Mark Challinor, chief executive officer of Media Futures Ltd. In London, United Kingdom, Paulo Mira, chief executive officer of PHD Mobi based in Miami, USA, Changhee Park, chief executive officer USA for South Korean publisher JoongAng Ilbo, and Chris Blaser, vice president of audience and circulation for the Las Vegas Review-Journal in the United States. Two executives departed the INMA Board in recent months — Olivier Bonsart, chief executive officer of 20 Minutes in Paris, France, and Gregory Hywood, chief executive officer of Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia.
