Former TV news executive Adrian Monck is stepping down as head of City University’s journalism department this summer to join the World Economic Forum as managing director and head of communications.
Monck has led the City journalism school in London since 2005 and oversaw its move into new purpose-built multimedia facilities earlier this year.
His TV career since 1988 has included time at CBS News, ITN and Sky News. As a senior ITN executive he helped launch and run the Five News service.
In the new role, Monck will be based in Geneva, leading a team of 18 working on the World Economic Forum’s publications, website and social media.
He will take up the job in August, at the end of the academic year.
The World Economic Forum was founded in 1971 as a non-for-profit organisation that aims to encourage dialogue and partnerships between leaders.
It holds an annual meeting of global business and government leaders each winter in Davos, Switzerland.
WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab said: “Adrian brings a wealth of experience to the Forum, not least his affinity for communicating through new media.
“YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr and blogging are some of the ways the Forum engages people from all sectors of society in a global dialogue. Adrian will work to further this global conversation.”
City’s graduate journalism school educates almost 600 students a year – the majority of whom at postgraduate level.
A spokeswoman for the university said it was advertising for a permanent replacement for Monck.
She said broadcast journalism course director Lis Howell, a former managing editor of Sky News and GMTV director of programmes, has been appointed interim head of journalism.
Howell started her career as a reporter on BBC Radio Leeds before working in regional TV news at Border, Granada and then Tyne Tees.
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