WAN-Ifra has named Christoph Riess as its new group chief executive of the enlarged association, with his WAN predecessor Timothy Balding taking a new role as global affairs director general. The position of former Ifra chief executive Reiner Mittelbach is to be announced later. The appointments follow the merger of the World Association of Newspapers (based in Paris) and Ifra (based in Darmstadt) during 2009, and take effect from February 1. Riess (53) joins WAN-Ifra from Mitsubishi Paper, having previously worked for Bertelsmann, Heidelberg and Australian-based international paper merchanting group PaperlinX. President Gavin O’Reilly is delighted with the appointment: “He brings both enormous industry experience and a modern, proactive perspective on the needs of the global news publishing industry. His appointment comes at a pivotal and exciting time for WAN-Ifra.” Riess will be assisted by Balding, whose new Paris-based role is to continue to lead relations with member associations, governments and international organisations, together with overseeing press freedom and media development, and public affairs. Balding, who is British, has been with WAN since 1985, and had led the Paris-based organisation since 1986. Based in Paris and Darmstadt, WAN-Ifra has subsidiaries in Singapore, India, Spain, France and Sweden. It represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 companies in more than 120 countries.