Benjamin Gajkowski appointed Head of Ringier Asia and General Manager Ringier Vietnam

Following an extensive market and strategy analysis to assess long-term opportunities, Ringier Asia announced at the end of 2017 that it would focus its expansion on Myanmar and Vietnam, with potential for further growth across the region in the medium term. Following the withdrawal from China, these two countries represent markets in which Ringier Asia is already successfully established and well positioned with a digitized portfolio. Myanmar and Vietnam are of key importance to Ringier Asia, with a clear focus on expansion plans in publishing, directories and classifieds, and aligned with Ringier's core competencies and global strategy.

The General Manager of Ringier Asia, Florent de Rocca-Serra, has successfully led the strategic realignment of the Asian activities. Now that this important mission has been accomplished, he is stepping down from his position at the end of the year to pursue new challenges. Florent de Rocca-Serra is leaving the company at his own request. Also for personal reasons, Managing Director Ringier Vietnam, Dale Nottingham, will leave the company in Q4 2018.

In line with the new regional focus, the Board of Directors of Ringier Asia has appointed Benjamin Gajkowski as Head of Ringier Asia and General Manager Ringier Vietnam. He reports directly to Robin Lingg, Chairman of Ringier Asia and responsible for the international marketplaces activities of the Ringier Group, and to Ralph Büchi, COO of Ringier and responsible for Digital Publishing.

Benjamin Gajkowski will take up his new position on November 1, 2018 at the latest. The 37-year-old studied history and political science and is a graduate of the Axel Springer Academy, the leading institution for journalism education in Germany. He attended the INSEAD Management Acceleration Program and holds an INSEAD Executive MBA. Benjamin Gajkowski is a media manager with more than ten years of experience primarily in sales and marketing, digital product development, and as a journalist for major news companies. He knows what it means to strategically develop and successfully manage digital products and media products in a complex, global, digital context.

"I am very pleased that with Benjamin Gajkowski we have been able to gain a proven expert who will drive forward and actively shape the development of our business in Asia. Benjamin's know-how and many years of experience will give us additional impetus to further expand our activities and position ourselves even more successfully on the market. With his experience, he will work with the local Ringier Asia leadership team to further strengthen Ringier's influence in digital publishing and classifieds in Asia," says Robin Lingg, Chairman of Ringier Asia.

Before joining Ringier, Benjamin Gajkowski was Vice President of Mediacorp, Singapore's largest media company. Prior to that, he spent seven years in various management positions at Axel Springer SE in Germany, one of the largest digital publishing houses in Europe. Before that, he worked as an editor for VIEW magazine at Gruner und Jahr AG & Co KG, one of Europe's largest printing and publishing houses.