INMA Elects 12 Media Executives to Board of Directors | CEO JNM Bharat Gupta Among Board Members

The International News Media Association (INMA) has welcomed 12 distinguished news executives to its esteemed Board of Directors at its Annual Business Meeting on May 23, 2024, marking a turning point in the Association’s development journey. The newly elected members will guide the strategic direction of INMA, representing global media companies committed to redefining engagement strategies and revenue growth in an ever-changing environment.

INMA has elected Gert Ysebaert as its new president for a two-year term. Ysebaert assumes leadership responsibility, chairing the association’s board of directors and responsible for promoting innovation and collaboration within the global news media community.

Siv Juvik Tveitnes of Schibsted Media in Norway has been appointed INMA’s First Vice President. Her tenure paves the way for the eventual presidency in 2026, marking a seamless transition in the organization’s leadership.

Maribel Perez Wadsworth, president and CEO of the Knight Foundation, will continue in her role as immediate past president for the next two years, providing valuable insight and continuity to the board.

INMA elects 12 media executives to its board | CEO JNM Bharat Gupta is among the board membersSource | INMA

Two other appointments demonstrate INMA’s commitment to nurturing emerging talent and regional representation. Bharat Gupta, CEO of India’s Jagran New Media, will become president of the South Asia division, while Anna-Katharina Kölbl, head of business development at Germany’s Funke Medien, will chair the Young Professionals Initiative Board.

Jagran New Media CEO Bharat Gupta joins the company as president of South Asia

Bharat Gupta is the CEO of Jagran New Media, the digital arm of Jagran Prakashan Ltd., India’s leading print and broadcast group. With a prolific career spanning over 22 years, Bharat has led the company in revitalizing various media businesses across print, broadcast, terrestrial activations and digital platforms. Under his leadership, Jagran New Media has risen to prominence and has a massive user base of over 100 million, thereby cementing its position among the foremost Internet media groups in India.

INMA elects 12 media executives to its board | CEO JNM Bharat Gupta is among the board members

In addition to being the CEO of Jagran New Media, Bharat serves as Vice President of the INMA South Asia Board, representing the International News Media Association. He also serves as a Board Member of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), a Founding Member of the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA), Executive Chairman of the Disinformation Fighting Coalition, and a Board Member of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN). In addition, he contributes his expertise as a member of the Advisory Board of FT Strategies in London and is a key member of the Google Global News Advisory Panel and YouTube Global News Advisory Panel. Prior to his role as CMO of Jagran New Media, Bharat served as Executive President of Marketing at Dainik Jagran.

Throughout his career, Bharat has represented Indian digital media publishers at many prominent industry forums such as WAN-IFRA, YouTube Publishers Forum, Google News Initiative (GNI) and Newsgeist Asia. His leadership philosophy is firmly rooted in aligning the goals of Digital India with the global digital landscape, building synergies with technology giants like Google and Meta.

Bharat is a visionary leader who plays a key role in Jagran New Media. His mission is to provide authentic and trustworthy content to empower the ‘New Bharat’. He advocates for knowledge dissemination, accessibility of information and diverse perspectives to promote an inclusive and progressive society. His people-centric approach has set new benchmarks in Indian media, inspiring high-performing teams and driving cutting-edge innovation within the organization.

Farewell to outgoing members

As INMA enters a new phase of leadership, it thanks its outgoing board members for their outstanding service. Pawan Agarwal, Deputy Managing Director of India Dainik Bhaskar, will end his tenure as President of South Asia, joining esteemed colleagues: PJ Browning, President of Newspapers at Corriere della Sera, Damian Eales, CEO of Move Inc./Realtor.com, Chris Janz, CEO of Capital Brief, Australia, and Troy Niday, COO of Sonoma Media Investments, USA, who was previously President of North America. In addition, Martha Ortiz, former Editor-in-Chief of El Colombiano, Colombia, will also step down, leaving behind a legacy of unwavering commitment and service to the industry.

List of all 12 news executives on the board

Location

Name

company

president

Gert Ispart

Media House

First Vice President

Siv Uvik Tvetness

Hibstead Media

Past Chairman

Maribel Perez Wadsworth

Knight Foundation

President, North America Division

Mark Campbell

Hearst

President, South Asia Division

Bharat Gupta

Jagran New Media

Chair, Young Professionals Initiative Committee

Anna Katharina Kohlberg

Funke Media

Member of the board

Alexandra Beverfjord

Eller Media

Member of the board

Lotta Aldrin

bonnier news

Member of the board

Carlos Nunez Murias

Prisa Media

Member of the board

Su Jialing

South China Morning Post

Member of the board

Praveen Someshwar

HT Media

Member of the board

Sivakumar Sundarram

Bennett Coleman Limited (BCCL)

INMA’s Vision

INMA’s mission is to incentivize news media companies to adopt business practices that sustain impactful journalism:

  • Build a community of best practices to facilitate the exchange of ideas, expertise, benchmarks and experiences.
  • Distilling members’ collective knowledge into insights to grow audiences, transform brands, and ensure financial sustainability for news media companies.
  • Recognize and recognize excellence in the key areas of subscriptions, data, product, advertising, newsroom and journalism operations.

About INMA

With nearly 22,000 professionals from more than 1,000 news media companies in 91 countries, INMA is at the forefront of fostering collaboration, sharing best practices and driving transformation across the industry. INMA is a global community of market-leading news media companies committed to reinventing audience engagement and revenue growth in a multi-platform environment. With extensive experience in facilitating knowledge exchange and strategic initiatives, INMA continues to shape the future of journalism by championing digital subscriptions, product innovation, generative AI, newsroom transformation, and publishers’ relationships with Big Tech.