Schibsted public policy director Karin Pettersson has been named to succeed Lars Henrik Munch as chair of WAN-Ifra's Media Freedom board.

Munch, who is chairman of JP/Politikens Hus, had held the post since 2013, and the expansion of programmes he implemented that will be her major role. She will also advise on implementation of WAN-Ifra's five-year 'media freedom strategic roadmap'.

Pettersson says she has spent her life in journalism, politics and advocacy. "What fundamentally drives me is a belief that journalism has the power to make the world a better place," she says.

Her election to the role was confirmed at an executive committee meeting in London on March 9.

Karin Pettersson joined Schibsted last December from Aftonbladet, where she was political editor-in-chief of the Scandinavian daily, having been co-founder and former editor-in-chief of newsmagazine Fokus. She won the European Newspaper Award for a series about Roma people in Stockholm, and is the 2017 Nieman-Berkman Fellow in Journalism Innovation.