FIPP chief Kummerfeld to step down

Donald Kummerfeld is stepping down as president and CEO of the International Federation of the Periodical Press (FIPP) after 8 years, according to a report in Brand Republic. (There is a longer release on the FIPP website.) He will complete his term following the biennial FIPP Magazine Congress being held in London in May. He had previously run the Magazine Publishers of America, the world's biggest magazine group.

Kummerfield acknowledged that his departure coincides with "serious economic challenges" to the magazine business, but said his decision to leave "in no way reflects pessimism" about the industry's ability to meet these challenges...

During a distinguished career spanning almost fifty years he was also president of News America Publishing, publisher of the New York Post, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Boston Herald, the San Antonio Express News, New York Magazine and the Village Voice.

A hunt is underway for his successor and among the names being bandied about are former PPA chief executive Ian Locks and former FIPP chairman Chris Llewellyn, international managing director of Bauer Consumer Media.