Ólafsson, an Icelandic native, was previously in charge of managing continuing education for the graphical and publishing industry in Iceland for the past several years. Before that, he was the ad production manager of Morgunbladid, the country's largest daily newspaper.

He holds a bachelor's degree in Newspaper Operations Management from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, and an MBA from the University of Edinburgh. Ólafsson is not new to WAN-IFRA: when he was in college, he spent a summer at our headquarters helping to support the technical team in charge of the International Color Quality Club (ICQC).

In his new role, Ólafsson will coordinate WAN-IFRA’s programmes related to its print and production initiatives. He is the main contact person for the print and production community within the World Printers Forum. He will advise and serve the association’s member companies in all matters related to print and production, and will develop the strategic and operational research, insights, and networking agenda of the World Printers Forum. He is based at WAN-IFRA’s headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, and has already taken up his duties.

“I am deeply honoured to be working with WAN-IFRA, the members of the World Printers Forum board, and the community as a whole. We have an excellent foundation built by my predecessor Manfred Werfel. Both publishers and suppliers have a wealth of knowledge and resources to push forward the agenda of the industry. It will be an exciting challenge to work on creative new ways to provide meaningful assistance to WAN-IFRA Members in this journey,” Olafsson said.

“It is absolutely essential to continue our efforts to modernise and adapt the industrial tools of the world's press. The sector represents more than 80% of the branch's revenues. It is not only an essential contribution to the transformation of the press but also the pillar of an omni-channel approach for all readers. Ingi Ólafsson brings a know-how that will make it possible to consolidate and renew the programmes developed by his predecessors, in particular Manfred Werfel, whose exceptional contribution in recent years I salute.”Adds Vincent Peyrègne, WAN-IFRA CEO

#futureofprint #newspapers #technology #innovation

Contact Inquiries

Vincent Peyrègne, CEO | email: vincent.peyregne@wan-ifra.org

Ingi Olafsson, Director of WAN-IFRA’s World Printers Forum | email: ingi.olafsson@wan-ifra.org

About the World Printers Forum

WAN-IFRA’s World Printers Forum is the central point of the international news media print community, including printers, materials suppliers and equipment manufacturers for the print production value chain from prepress to press and to product finishing and delivery. It advises WAN-IFRA in all aspects of the printed newspaper: production planning, prepress data handling and processing, press and mailroom operations including connected topics in terms of management and technical implementation. The World Printers Forum is open to all WAN-IFRA Members who are interested in the future of the newspaper printing business and print related areas. See more at https://www.wan-ifra.org/microsites/world-printers-forum