Zimpapers names ceo, chairman

Harare Bureau
THE Zimbabwe Newspapers Group has appointed Delma Lupepe and Pikirayi Deketeke as chairman and group chief executive officer respectively to lead the media, printing and packaging behemoth.

In a statement yesterday, Zimpapers said Lupepe, a renowned businessman and philanthropist, replaces Dr Charles Utete, who stepped down from the Zimpapers board last month while Deketeke takes over from the former chief executive officer of the group, Justin Mutasa.

Mutasa left Zimpapers last year.

“A career journalist, Mr Deketeke has worked for Zimpapers since 1987 when he joined The Sunday Mail as a junior reporter. He rose through the ranks to become Editor of The Herald in March 2001, a position he held for eight years.

“In May 2009, he was appointed Group Editor-in-Chief, assuming responsibility for implementing and guiding the editorial policy of the entire group’s newspapers,” reads the statement.

Deketeke was also responsible for managing all editorial issues, staff development and all the content of the newspapers.

He was appointed chief operating officer in July and continued to serve as Editor-In-Chief.

“Mr Deketeke has been leading the group’s media strategy, which has seen Zimpapers launching new products such as the popular market tabloids, H-Metro and B-Metro, the country’s first commercial radio station, Star FM, and winning the licence for metro radio station in Mutare, Diamond FM. He has also spearheaded the setting up of digital platforms with trendsetting products such as BH24, Sports Zone as well as Mobile News,” said the statement.

Zimpapers, which is listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, is the country’s biggest media house with interests in the printing, broadcasting and publishing industry.

The company publishes three daily newspapers, The Herald, H-Metro and The Chronicle; two national Sunday papers, The Sunday Mail and Sunday News; two national language newspapers, Kwayedza and uMthunywa, the Mutare-based Manica Post and Bulawayo-based B-Metro.

It also jointly publishes a weekly upmarket newspaper, Southern Times, with the New Era group of Namibia.

Among it’s publications are also magazine titles such as ZimTravel.

The group now has the country’s largest digital media footprint.

Deketeke, a Christian, is married and has four children.