Mr Shaw, 38, had previously been Chief Technology Officer at Illinois-based Shaw Media, where he is a member of the sixth generation of family ownership. The company groups nearly 100 print and digital publications focused on community journalism in the Midwest of the United States.
Mr Shaw joins WAN-IFRA’s team to support its mission of providing a knowledge hub for the news media industry. As Senior Digital Consultant and a leading expert on digital media, he has the task of providing independent advice on digital strategy and organisational change. He will also lead various WAN-IFRA initiatives to support the media industry in its transformation.
“Ben brings a wealth of hands-on experience that will not only enhance WAN-IFRA’s knowledge base, but will provide practical expertise to benefit our member newspapers and news publishers around the globe ”, said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of WAN-IFRA, the global organisation representing 18,000 newspapers, 15,000 online sites and more than 3,000 companies in 120 countries.
“The environment for media today is one of constant change and innovation,” he said. “News media require a reliable stream of new technologies, products and business models. As a member of our consulting department, Ben will support the mission to filter and repurpose the flow of innovation and will contribute to the expansion of our other innovative activities like the Media Innovation Hub.”
Thomas Jacob, Chief Operating Officer of WAN-IFRA, said: “As news media undergoes continuous transformation, there is an increasing demand for independent advice on digital strategy and organizational change. As someone who drove the digital transformation at Shaw Media, Ben’s expertise will augment our mission to be the knowledge hub for the media industry.”
Mr Shaw will be based in Frankfurt, and lead a growing team of digital media experts at WAN-IFRA.
He served as Chief Technology Officer at Shaw Media from 2010 through 2013 and came up through the ranks, serving previously as Chief Digital Officer and IT Director. He was named as one of the 25 Publishing Leaders Under 35 in 2011 by Editor & Publishing Magazine, and won the Inland Press Digital Journalism Award for Best Online Innovation in 2011 for the iPad version of nwherald.com.
He is a member of the Pioneer Newsgroup Board of Directors.
“I’m excited to join the WAN-IFRA team,” Mr Shaw said. “WAN-IFRA’s status as a global knowledge leader, and its unique press freedom role, made joining the team a natural step for me. I look forward to working together with the global news media industry as we navigate the exciting and disruptive changes that digital technologies are bringing.”
