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Caesar Zvayi

Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE Newspapers (1980) Ltd has made key appointments in line with its thrust to consolidate its position as a market leader in publishing, broadcasting and digital platforms. Caesar Zvayi has been appointed Editor-in-Chief of The Herald tasked with spearheading the revamping of The Herald, with editions for major cities and towns as well as the creation of a stand-alone Saturday Herald and the enhancement of the paper’s digital footprint.

Prior to his latest assignment, Zvayi was Editor of The Herald since 2013. He started his career with Zimpapers in 2004 as a senior political reporter until he assumed editorship of the paper in 2013.

On his latest appointment, Zvayi says he is looking forward to taking The Herald into the future with specific editions to cater for growing cities and towns.

“Audiences and lifestyles are shifting so are the demands and tastes in the market, which calls for continuous innovation when one is at the helm of the country’s biggest paper. These are exciting times and I am excited about this new challenge,” he said.

Mr Marks Shayamano has been appointed General Manager of the Group’s Digital and Publishing Division, which is where the company’s newspaper and digital media platforms fall. Prior to this appointment, Mr Shayamano was the General Manager of Bulawayo Branch which houses publications that include Chronicle, The Sunday News, B-Metro and others.

Mr Shayamano

Mr Shayamano is largely credited for turning around the fortunes of the Bulawayo Branch from a loss making unit into a profitable business. His main focus as GM of the Digital and Publishing Division will be to consolidate the operations of the newly-formed division and align it to the group’s strategy which is to maximise group synergy.

He is tasked with dealing with the fragmentation and sibling rivalry that has largely characterised the business. Mr Comfort Mbofana has been appointed General Manager of the Radio Broadcasting Division after serving as Star FM General Manager for the past two years.

Under his watch Star FM rose to become the country’s leading radio station with over 50 percent market share. His latest role tasks him to oversee all radio projects under the group. Zimpapers currently owns two radio stations after launching Diamond FM, a regional station for Mutare, last year in May.

Zimpapers Group Chief Executive Mr Pikirayi Deketeke says these latest appointments come as part of an organisational redesign which is meant to centralise operations and improve operational efficiencies.

“We are a big company and our resources are sparsely located, which at times has seen us approaching things in a fragmented way. Our focus now is to improve synergies across the group, foster a high performance culture and increase capacity collaboration,” he said.

The Zimpapers Group currently has 11 newspaper titles and two digital publications. In 2012, the Group started its first radio project Star FM and the station has since become a top radio brand that listeners and advertisers trust.

It also has a television production unit, the Zimpapers Television Network. The group also owns the National Printing and Packaging Company (Natprint) which falls under its Commercial Printing Division. The new business divisions in Zimpapers come at a time when the business continues to roll out new products in line with changing trends and demands.