Thomas Jacob, managing director of WAN-Ifra’s Asia Pacific region and one of three deputies of the global organisation, has been appointed its chief operating officer.

He takes a new position reporting to newly-appointed chief executive Vincent Peyregne and will be responsible for operational management and business development worldwide.

“Thomas brings a deep knowledge of the different facets of the news publishing industry and I believe this new role will take advantage of his talents and experience,” says Peyregne.

“His track record in Asia Pacific can be leveraged as WAN-Ifra strives to deliver the best solutions and services to the newspapers and news publishers across the globe.”

Jacob brings over 28 years of experience in media.

He began his career as a rookie engineer with ‘Mathrubhumi’, a leading vernacular newspaper from India. After helming the technical department for four years, he moved to Singapore to establish Ifra’s presence in Asia. During this tenure, he established its Ifra Asia and Ifra India subsidiaries.

He then joined Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of ‘Daily Mail’ and ‘Metro’ in the UK, and as international development director, conceptualised a compact midmarket newspaper for the Indian market. He initiated a joint venture with the India Today Group to launch ‘Mail Today’.

He is an MBA with high honours from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.  As a summa cum laude, he is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, an honour society for management in the USA.

He is a trained engineer in electronics and telecommunications, having graduated with distinction from the National Institute of Technology, Suratkal, in India. He also underwent advanced studies in computer networking at ICIS, Singapore.