Online Reporter
Freeman Razemba
Senior Reporter
VETERAN journalist Mr William Chikoto has been appointed Zimpapers chief executive officer.
This was announced yesterday by the company’s board.
The appointment is with immediate effect.
Zimpapers unveiled a digital-first, integrated newsroom earlier this week, positioning it as a leader in delivering news quickly and efficiently across digital platforms while maintaining the influence of its print and broadcast channels.
Mr Chikoto, who was the group editorial executive, had been acting CEO since January this year.
He has previously served as editor of The Herald and editor of The Sunday Mail, two of the group’s flagship papers.
In a statement, Zimpapers confirmed the development.
“The Zimbabwe Newspapers (1980) Limited (Zimpapers) Board Chairperson, Mrs Doreen Sibanda, has announced the appointment of Mr William Chikoto as the substantive chief executive officer, with immediate effect.
“Mr Chikoto has served as Acting chief executive officer for the past 10 months, during which time he successfully steered and stabilised the organisation. Mr Chikoto joined Zimpapers as a junior reporter and rose through the ranks to become the editor of The Sunday Mail in 2001, editor of The Herald in 2009, and group editorial executive in 2012, a clear testimony to his passion and dedication to his profession. His leadership and commitment have been instrumental in maintaining the company’s operations and ensuring organisational stability.
“The board expresses its full confidence in Mr Chikoto’s ability to lead Zimpapers into its next phase of growth and innovation, specifically focusing on the current digital transformation of the organisation. We look forward to his continued contribution and leadership as he takes on this substantive role,” reads the statement.
Mr Chikoto joined The Sunday Mail as a cadet reporter in 1987, rising to the positions of night editor and managing editor, Sunday Mail editor (2001), The Herald editor, and then editorial executive.
In that position, Mr Chikoto was in charge of the convergence of content across all Zimpapers platforms — newspapers, online, television and radio. He was also responsible for training journalists to write across the platforms and overseeing the group’s content strategy.
In 2009, Mr Chikoto graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a first-class Master of Arts in Leadership and Management degree.
He also holds a Diploma in Journalism (Harare Poly) and a Bachelor of Arts in English and Communication.
This week, Zimpapers took a bold step into the future of journalism by launching its integrated newsroom, thereby signalling a shift to a digital-first approach in response to changing audience habits.
