This was the first meeting chaired by new FIPP chairman, Aroon Purie, chairman and editor-in-chief, Living Media India Limited, India, and attended by Chris Llewellyn, FIPP president and CEO, in his new capacity since his appointment on 1 October.
The new Board directors are:
* Eija Ailasmaa, president and CEO, Sanoma Magazines BV, The Netherlands
Eija Ailasmaa has been CEO of Sanoma Magazines since 2003. A graduate of the University of Helsinki with a Master’s degree in social sciences, Eija was introduced to the world of magazines in 1985, when she became editor-in-chief for Kodin Kuvalehti in Finland. After some time, she was appointed general manager at Helsinki Media in 1998, taking over as CEO in 2000. She remained CEO of Sanoma Magazines Finland, as the business is now known, until 2002, when her responsibilities at the parent company, Sanoma Magazines, demanded her full attention.
* Eckart Bollmann, executive board member, Bauer Media Group, Germany
Eckart Bollmann began his professional life as a freelance journalist in the late 1970s and made the move to publishing in 1985. Since 1988 he has been responsible for foreign affairs in publishing and set up many publishing houses for international media groups in Middle and Eastern Europe and Asia. Today, Eckart is member of the executive board of Bauer Publishing Group.
* Rupert Heseltine, deputy chairman, Haymarket Media Group, UK
Rupert Heseltine began his publishing career in Australia in 1989, working for Peter Isaacson Publications. On his return to the UK, he joined Maxwell Business Communications. In 1994 he joined Haymarket, first working on BBC Gardeners’ World Live, then going on to Car Hi-Fi in the consumer magazines division. In 2001, he became a director of Haymarket Group, and joined the boards of Haymarket Magazines and Haymarket Business. In 2004, he was appointed deputy chairman of Haymarket Exhibitions and in 2005 he was made deputy chairman of Haymarket Group. In recent years Rupert’s primary focus has been the development of the Indian business and Haymarket’s digital presence.
* Ulrika Saxon, CEO, Bonnier Magazines and Bonnier Tidskrifter, Sweden
Ulrika Saxon is CEO of Bonnier Magazine and Bonnier Morning Paper as well as CEO of Bonnier Tidskrifter. She was previously vice president of Bonnier Tidskrifter, CEO of Bonzoo Förlag and ad director of Bonniers Veckotidningar. She has also worked as a media consultancy advisor. Ulrika is also on the Board for Sydsvenskan, Stockholm City and Bonnier Publications.
Commenting on the appointment, FIPP president and CEO, Chris Llewellyn, said: “The addition of four new directors to the Management Board of FIPP is excellent news for our organisation and, on a personal level, for myself. Whilst all four represent extremely important companies with widespread international activity, of even more importance is that each commands a huge amount of respect in our industry. Collectively they bring a tremendous amount of knowledge, experience, and talent to the Board and I look forward to receiving their wise counsel at our future meetings.”
The FIPP Management Board (pictured) is made up of 38 voting members, plus six advisory members, from 25 countries around the world. Some are managing directors of national magazine associations while others are senior executives in publishing companies interested or involved in international publishing. They are elected or re-elected annually by FIPP’s members and are unpaid.
The FIPP Board provides policy guidance to the president and staff, approves the association’s annual budget, including the dues rates for members, accepts new members, approves proposals for major events and shares information about trends and challenges in magazine publishing. By tradition, the chairman of the FIPP Board serves for two years. In addition, other Board officers may include vice chairman, a treasurer and the immediate past chairman.
About FIPP
FIPP says: “FIPP works for the benefit of consumer, customer and business media providers around the world, focusing its activities on freedom of the press, intellectual property, information provision, freedom to advertise, freedom of distribution and environmental protection. Today, FIPP has more than 800 members, including subsidiaries, across 68 countries consisting of 53 national associations, 560 publishing companies and 213 associate companies. FIPP represents more than 6,000 member magazine titles which include almost all of the world’s leading magazine brands."
