Press regulator Impress has announced its head of regulation, Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana, will take over as chief executive on 1 April 2023.
Kirkconnell-Kawana will succeed current chief executive Ed Procter, who has led the organisation since 2020 and first joined as chief operating officer in 2016.
Procter told Press Gazette he will take a short career break, during which he will complete an MA in coaching and mentoring and do some part-time non-executive and consultancy work.
Kirkconnell-Kawana is qualified as a barrister in her native New Zealand and previously worked in the investigations team in the country’s Advertising Standards Authority. She starts as deputy chief executive effective immediately to work with Procter until this departure.
Impress chairman Richard Ayre said: “We were thrilled at the range and calibre of the competitors for this post, but in the end Lexie’s forensic knowledge of media regulation and her vision for the way Impress can rebuild public confidence in news media made her a compelling choice to lead the Impress team.”
Kirkconnell-Kawana said: “Having built a strong foundation with our wide membership, Impress is preparing to roll out a raft of exciting products and services for all kinds of news innovators, to continue to build public trust in news in the UK now and in the future.”
In July Press Gazette covered an appearance by Kirkconnell-Kawana at the IPPR Oxford Media Convention, at which she discussed the extent to which freedom of expression can be privileged over other rights.
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