The World Printers Forum Board election took place from 1 through 31 December 2016. Every employee of a WAN-IFRA member company was entitled to vote for six candidates from publishing or printing companies and six candidates from supplier companies.

The total number of votes cast was 647. The following cadidates were elected as  World Printers Forum Board members (in alphabetic order):

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Representatives from publishing or printing companies

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Andreas GierthAndreas Gierth, Director of Production, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH (FAZ), Germany

Andreas Gierth studied Printing and Media Technology at Munich University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

After graduation, he joined Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) in 1997 as a trainee and later promoted as an Associate in 1999. In 2004, Andreas Gierth became the Head of Planning division and in 2011 he was promoted as the production controller of FAZ.

Andreas Gierth implemented new editorial systems as well as new advertisement and planning systems. He was responsible for managing outsourcing processes.

Currently he heads the entire production department including planning, ad production and billing, creative solutions and newspaper/magazine production.

Sanat Hazra

Sanat Hazra, Technical Director, Bennett, Coleman & Co, Mumbai, India

Sanat Hazra studied at the Rochester Institute of Technology (USA), earning BS in Photographic Science & Engineering, MS in Printing Technology and attended Tuck College at Dartmouth University studying Corporate Leadership Program. Before joining the Time of India as Technical and Production Director in 2008, Sanat worked at the New York Daily News as VP of Production.

Sanat dedicated 14 years with the New York Times prior to joining the New York Daily News. As Executive Director of Production at the New York Times, Sanat was responsible for transforming company’s two printing plants into state of the art operation, optimising the entire supply chain of the newspaper, implementing Statistical Process Control and Six Sigma process and winning many International Newspaper Color Quality Club awards.

Prior to the NYT he worked for the Crosfield Electronics as Senior Material Science Engineer. At Crosfield Electronics, he developed direct imaging thermal plate for CTP application.

Josef Konrad Schießl

Josef Konrad Schießl, Managing Director, Süddeutscher Verlag Zeitungsdruck GmbH, Munich, Germany

Qualifications: Dipl. Ing. FH, at Munic University of Applied Sciences

Employment: 1992 to 1994 – Frankfurter Societäts-Druckerei (FAZ Group), Trainee, working in Controlling
1994 to 1999 – Mayer & Söhne Aichach, last function area manager printing
Since 1999 at Süddeutscher Verlag Zeitungsdruck GmbH, Munich. Süddeutscher Verlag publishes one of the largest German quality dailies. Its printing plant is one of the big 5 newspaper printing plants in Germany.

External Committees

• Member of the executive board of the Federal Printers and Media Association in Germany (Bundesverband Druck und Medien e.V. bvdm)
• Member of the Committee for Technology and Research – Federal Printers and Media Association (bvdm)
• Member of the Social Political Committe and of the “Gand Negotiation Commission Tariff Policy” – Federal Printers and Media Association (bvdm)
• Chair of the Technical Committee “Conventional Printing Processes” of FOGRA (Fogra Forschungsgesellschaft Druck e.V.)
• Board member of WAN-IFRA's World Printers Forum since January 2015
• Honorary judge at Labour Court Munich

Peder SchumacherPeder Schumacher, CEO, V-TAB AB, Gothenburg, Sweden

Peder Schumacher was educated for Master of Engineering at Chalmers in Gothenburg and he his employments are:

Year 1987-1990 – SKF AB
Year 1990-2000 – Different executive positions in the paper industry 
(Modo, Modo Paper and M-real)
Year 2000 – V-TAB AB

Peder Schumacher is a board member of WAN-IFRA's World Printers Forum since January 2015. He is also chairman of NOPA, the Nordic Offset Printing Association. NOPA is an exclusive meeting and networking place for leading offset printers and their suppliers, who understand the value in being updated on trends in market, product development and technology, and in exchanging ideas and experiences with colleagues and competitors in order to manage their future development. 

Mujo SelimovicMujo Selimovic was born in 1969 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He graduated Law from the University of Sarajevo. In 1989, he founded MIMS Co., then as a trading company. During the war period, he continued his business in Check Republic from where he returned back to Sarajevo in 1997. MIMS group growth was robust and now it is the largest private company in Bosnia and Herzegovina, involved in trade, investments, energy, media, real estate, food and beverage production and others.

Mujo Selimovic is the publisher of Oslobodjenje, the most respected daily newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina that received a numerous national and international awards for the high standard in journalism. MIMS group is a strategic partner of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, SAIS, in Washington DC, for the Balkans, with goal to promote stronger transatlantic relations. Mr. Selimovic is married and has three children.

Rick StuntDr. Rick Stunt, Group Paper Director, dmg-media, London, UK

Born 1961.

Education: Wakeford School Hampshire (1972-77), Highbury College1977-79), University of East Anglia (1979-1985).

Qualifications: B.Sc. Chemistry, Ph.D. Chemical Physics.

Employment
1985-87 – Senior Research Scientist. 3M working in photo-sensitive dyes and T-grain emulsion technologies.
1987-88 – Technical Manager Press Papers Ltd.
1988-90 – Technical Director SCA Paper UK.
1990-93 – Technical Director Haindl Papier UK.
1993-94 – Sales Director Haindl Papier UK.
1994-Present day. Dmg-media London UK.
1997 Appointed to the Production Board.
1998 Appointed Group Paper Director – Associated Newspapers Ltd.
2008-2012 DMGT CSR Committee Member.

External Committees/Directorships

• N.I.M.C. Newspaper Industry Materials Committee. Member 1994 - present day. Chairman 2006 - present day.
• N.N.I.E.A.G. Newspaper and Newsprint Industries Environmental Action Group. 1996 - present day.
• E.N.P.A. European Newspapers Publishers Association. Newsprint and Environmental Committee. 1995-2016. Chairman 2001-2016.
• N.M.E. Newsprint and Environmental Committee Chairman 2016 - present day.
• 2-Sides UK Board Executive Director 2013 - present day.

WAN-IFRA

• Newsprint and Environmental Committee. Member 1994-2015 Chairman 1997-2015.
• European Committee. Member 2005-2012.
• Advisory Council. Member 2000-2015. Deputy Chairman 2009-2015.
• World Printers Forum Board. Deputy Chairman 2015 - present day.

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Representatives from supplier companies

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Anu AholaAnu Ahola, Senior Vice President, Newspaper Publishing, UPM Paper ENA

Anu Ahola is Senior Vice President responsible for SBU Newspaper Publishing, UPM Paper ENA (Europe and North America) since March 2016.

Before Anu Ahola was Senior Vice President responsible for Strategy & Energy within UPM Paper ENA. She has been in this role since 2013. Ahola joined UPM in 2007 being responsible for strategy creation and implementation processes and Paper Business Group's strategy development. Prior to joining UPM she worked for Nokia and Pöyry.

Anu Ahola has Master's degree in Technology from Helsinki University of Technology, and MBA from Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration.

She is based in Helsinki and Augsburg and reports to Winfried Schaur, Executive Vice President, UPM Paper ENA.

Dieter BetzmeierDieter Betzmeier, Member of the Board of Directors of manroland web systems GmbH, Augsburg, Germany

Betzmeier is a trained technical draftsman and a graduate engineer (FH) in mechanical engineering. The native of Augsburg is married and has two children.

Dieter Betzmeier, born in 1960, was a lecturer in mechanical engineering at the IHK Augsburg, as well as a junior designer and project manager in the newspaper industry. Dieter Betzmeier has extensive experience as head of major projects and assembly and commissioning. As Project Manager News International, whose largest printing company produces one million newspaper copies per hour, Dieter Betzmeier has made a name for itself in the industry.

Dieter Betzmeier is a board member of WAN-IFRA's World Printers Forum since January 2015.

Michael HirthammerDr. Michael Hirthammer, General Manager, Director Global Paste Technologies Screen & Industrial, DIC and Sun Chemical, Eurolab Karlstein, Germany.

Born 1956 in Düsseldorf, Germany. After finishing the University in Tübingen with a PhD degree in Organic Chemistry Michael Hirthammer joined the Research Group of Prof. Dr. Vollhardt at the University of California in Berkeley, USA, with a post-doctoral fellowship.

His professional career started in 1986 at Henkel-Teroson in Heidelberg, Germany, with a final responsibility for the analytical, global research and development for automotive adhesives, coatings and sealants. In 2000 he joined SunChemical/Hartmann Druckfarben GmbH at the Karlstein location in Germany as a technical director. After the Coates Lorilleux acquisition a major contribution was the integration of the two companies from a technology perspective.

As general manager he is globally responsible in DIC and SunChemical for Paste Inks technologies (Coldset, Heatset, Sheetfed, EC Offset, Publication Gravure, Fountain solutions and Screen & Industrials). His main task is to ensure a robust product portfolio including regulatory compliance, to support efficiency and productivity programs at customer level as well as developing new and innovative products.

The right project selection is critical to make the best use of global resources. Speed and execution through experienced and well-trained employees is a must. With the introduction of Six Sigma the way of operating the laboratories has changed and became data and fact driven.

Michael Hirthammer is a board member of WAN-IFRA's World Printers Forum since January 2015.

Menno JansenMenno Jansen, Chairman Q.I. Press Controls BV, EAE Engineering Automation Electronics GmbH, Oosterhout, Netherlands

QIPC-EAE is the result of the acquisition of EAE by Q.I. Press Controls in 2014. Q.I. Press Controls, a leading supplier of innovative, high-quality optical measurement and control systems, joined forces with EAE, the supplier of control, automation and software solutions for the printing industry. Supported by a global service network, the QIPC-EAE joint-venture delivers solutions for web offset presses in the printing industry. From prepress to mailroom, QIPC-EAE provides solutions that lead to production reliability and enhanced performance.

Menno Jansen is also the chair of Prime. Manufacturing companies within the graphics industry have come together under the name Prime Network to jointly create standards for an efficient workflow during newspaper production. The members use their knowledge of the industry to develop solutions which are easily implemen­table and sustainable for the future.

Herbert KaiserHerbert Kaiser, Senior Manager, Product and Project Management, KBA-Digital & Web Solutions AG & Co. KG, Würzburg, Germany

Herbert Kaiser, born in 1961, is married and has two children.

He is a graduate engineer (FH) in mechanical engineering.

Herbert Kaiser is Head of Project Management for Newspaper, Commercial and Inkjet Presses as well as Product Manager for Newspaper and Semi-Commercial Presses at KBA-Digital & Web Solutions.

He is working for KBA since 1986, after his graduation starting as planning engineer. As Project Manager Herbert Kaiser handled plenty of installations worldwide for single-, double- and triple-wide newspaper and semi-commercial presses from the early planning phase up to assembly, commissioning and handover.

This is going along with the launch of various new press generations Herbert Kaiser is accompanying as Product Manager, such as most recently the KBA Commander CL.

Herbert Kaiser is a board member of WAN-IFRA's World Printers Forum since January 2015 and was also member of the former IFRA Technical Committee Production.

For generations, KBA has been a leading supplier of rotary offset presses for newspaper and commercial printing. Presses from the C range stand for printing from 16 to 80 pages, with a variety of production options.

KBA offers the compact presses Cortina (waterless) and Commander CT (wet offset) and the flexible automation of Commander CL. The single-width Comet and Continent as well as the inkjet web press RotaJet supplement the range of presses. Other features are folding units, automatic reel stands, systems for paper logistics and a range of product finishing options.

Jan KastenJan Kasten, Managing Director, ppi Media GmbH, Hamburg, Germany

Jan Kasten held management positions in the prepress and IT departments at Märkisches Verlags- und Druckhaus GmbH & Co. KG before becoming Head of Product Management for Prepress Systems at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG in 1998.

Jan began working for ppi Media GmbH in 2002. After many years as Head of Product Management, he became managing director of the company in 2014, responsible for R&D, support, quality assurance, documentation and training divisions.

His primary objective is to significantly expand ppi Media's digital operations and gain a foothold in new market segments, for example online print. Jan focuses on customers’ wishes and on designing viable tools and solutions together with the customers to make their work at the publishing or printing house easier, more innovative and multimedial.

Jan Kasten is a board member of WAN-IFRA's World Printers Forum since January 2015.