KYIV -- American J. Michael Willard, a veteran marketing, public relations and advertising executive with extensive experience in Ukraine, has been named chief executive officer of the Kyiv Post.
Mohammad Zahoor, owner of the Kyiv Post, made the announcement on July 18 in a meeting with the newspaper’s staff.

“I hired Mike because he has a successful track record in all the relevant areas: journalism, advertising, marketing, government relations,” Zahoor said. “He has the kind of experience and contacts that the Kyiv Post needs to succeed in Ukraine’s very competitive media market. I brought Michael here to make this venture more successful commercially."

Willard replaces Jim Phillipoff, also an American. Phillipoff will remain director of media and telecommunications for the ISTIL Group, Zahoor’s diversified company with assets in real estate, media and manufacturing. Phillipoff is currently heading up a direct-to-home satellite TV project for Zahoor's group.

“I am very much looking forward to the opportunity of leading one of the finest news organizations in Ukraine,” Willard said. “I have long been a fan of the Kyiv Post, its brand of journalism and the current news team. At the same time, this is a business that needs to increase its revenue and advertising to be able to continue to afford first-rate journalism and serve the community well.”

Willard said he will personally meet with all staff and will "come up in six weeks with a strategy of how to move forward." He sees opportunities in tapping into new audiences for the Kyiv Post’s journalism. And, when it comes to advertising, Willard doesn’t like the word. He thinks it’s better to “sell hope, ideas, messages – not ads.”

Willard, 66, will also remain chairman of The Willard Group, a Kyiv-based public relations and marketing firm with offices in Moscow and Istanbul. The firm was acquired last year by British-based All About Brands, but continues to operate under the Willard name with more than 75 employees. From 1994-1998, he was managing director of Burson-Marsteller public relations and advertising in Ukraine and Russia and a member of the B-M European board of directors. Willard bought the Kyiv office of B-M in 1998.

In the United States, Willard worked for eight years as an adviser to the late U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd and also for U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, both of West Virginia. He also worked with United Press International from 1968 to 1976, so this appointment returns Willard to his journalistic roots. He started his journalism career with the Orlando Sentinel, working on the city desk at age 19 while still in college. Willard also worked with the Tampa Times and the Springfield (Mass.) Union.

The Kyiv Post is one of Ukraine’s leading news sources. It is Ukraine’s oldest and top English-language newspaper and will celebrate its 16th year of existence in October. For a year, the Kyiv Post has also published an online version in Ukrainian and Russian languages.

Zahoor, a native of Pakistan and British citizen who sold a Donetsk mini-steel mill for close to $1 billion in 2008, purchased the newspaper two years ago from its founder, American Jed Sunden. The Kyiv Post currently has a staff of about 45 people, including 30 in its news division. When asked how he feels now about buying the Kyiv Post, Zahoor said: “I’ll never regret” the decision.

NOTE: Kyiv Post senior editor Brian Bonner can be reached at bonner@kyivpost.com. Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv contributed to this report.

LINK: http://www.kyivpost.com/news/city/detail/108860/#ixzz1SdoxA5eY

NOTE: The ISTIL Group/Kyiv Post is a member of the U.S.-Ukraine Business Council (USUBC), Washington, D.C., www.usubc.org.