WAN-Ifra chief executive Vincent Peyrègne takes over communications and coordination of the organisation's advocacy branch following the departure of Larry Kilman.
WAN-Ifra's secretary general since June 2014, Kilman leaves following a long career as a leading champion of press freedom and media development worldwide. He was previously director of communications.
Peyrègne says his role in the merger of WAN and Ifra in 2009 contributed significantly to the sound and seamless integration of the technical and business services and the general interest missions of the organisation: "We thank Larry Kilman for his remarkable and longstanding commitment to the organisation and its global community of publishers and editors, and respect his desire for a change," he says.
"Larry is a remarkable advocate for press freedom, relentlessly standing up to promote and defend the values of a free, independent press worldwide. He initiated and maintained an impressive network of friends and press freedom supporters that helped WAN-Ifra to reach its current status as the irreplaceable partner for thousands of media companies and institutions worldwide.
"We wish him every success with his new professional goals."
Kilman joined WAN in 1998 as director of communications, having previously worked as a journalist for more than 20 years in Asia, Europe and the US, primarily with Associated Press, Radio Free Europe and Agence France-Presse. He was also an economics editor for the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
A frequent conference speaker and moderator, he has contributed to a wide variety of private sector, civil society, inter-governmental and governmental events. He was responsible for WAN-Ifra's annual presentation on world press trends, and has spoken or moderated for UNESCO's World Press Freedom Day conferences and other UNESCO media-focused events, the International Press Institute's annual conference, the Africa Media Leaders Forum, and for dozens of conferences organised by news media associations in countries including Brazil, Spain, the UK, Denmark, Sweden, Russia, Korea and Turkey.