REINVENTING MEDIA BUSINESS

International Ander Forum
September 17-18, 2025

About

Boutique, two-day media business event in the heart of Riga that serves as a meeting space for media professionals — managers, innovators, digital experts as well as editors and content writers. The aim of the forum is to bring the media business community together to share, create, and collaborate. Here, we will exchange the latest professional knowledge that will help discover hidden opportunities in the ever-changing media business world.

The forum is organised by The Centre for Media Studies at Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.

“We entered new technological and geopolitical eras that are going to define news publishers’ business models and their relevance for the next decade. How do we adapt? By learning from the best. This year’s Reinventing Media Business will focus on practical case studies on revenue models that work and excel, AI adoption that’s making a real impact, and press resilience in the new geopolitical reality.”

Zakhar Protsiuk, Forum Director, COO at the Kyiv Independent

What to Expect

Expert insights: Powerhouse sessions with leading European media innovators

Inspiring case studies: Real-world examples that spark new ideas

Relatable experiences: Honest stories from peers in the field

Useful connections: Meet collaborators, mentors, and future partners

Speakers

SPEAKERS 2025
  • Lou Grasser

    Chief Digital Operations Officer
    Le Monde
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Chris Moran

    Head of editorial innovation
    Guardian News & Media
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Jacquelyn L Cameron

    Chief Revenue Officer
    Axios
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Julia Tymoshenko

    Journalist
    Ukraïner
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Sheetal Puri

    Senior Director, Digital Fundraising
    Wikimedia Foundation
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Rosalía Lloret

    CEO
    elDiario.es
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Zakhar Protsiuk

    Forum Director, COO
    Kyiv Independent
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Matthew Harrison

    Head of Media Products
    ABC Nyheter
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Lea Korsgaard

    Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief
    Zetland
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Tomáš Bella

    Co-founder and Chief Digital Officer
    Denník N
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Jakub Parusinski

    Director
    The Fix Media
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Alex Chapko

    GM & Global SVP Alliances
    PIANO
    LinkedIn
  • Katharina Schmidt

    Editor in Chief
    Wiener Zeitung
    LinkedIn
  • Hannah Sarney

    Hannah Sarney

    Editorial Product Director, Executive Editor
    Financial Times
    LinkedIn
  • Milda Petkauskaitė

    Milda Petkauskaitė

    Representative in the Baltics
    Reporters Without Borders
    LinkedIn
  • Jonathan Knight

    Jonathan Knight

    Head of Games
    The New York Times
    LinkedIn
  • Dominik K Cagara

    Dominik Krzysztof Cagara

    Co-founder & CFO
    OC Media
    LinkedIn
  • Sofie Hvivted

    Sofie Hvitved

    Senior Advisor & Head of Media
    Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies, Future Media Hubs
    LinkedIn
  • Samuel Fairburn

    Co-founder
    Flare
    LinkedIn
  • Daniel Flatt

    Co-founder
    Flare
    LinkedIn
  • Cécile SOURD

    General Director
    Mediapart
    LinkedIn
  • Olena Lavruk

    Executive Director
    Inker
    LinkedIn
  • Jakub Parusinski

    Director
    The Fix Media
    LinkedIn
    Learn More
  • Timo Kämäräinen

    Editorial Development Director
    Alma Media
    LinkedIn
  • Magdalena Woods

    Founder and CEO
    Flare
    LinkedIn
  • Jody Doherty-Cove

    Jody Doherty-Cove

    Head of Editorial AI
    Newsquest
    LinkedIn
  • ALYONA NEVMERZHYTSKA

    CEO
    Hromadske.ua
    Learn More
  • MARI LIIS RÜÜTSALU

    CEO
    Ekspress Group
    Learn More
  • Shira Jeczmien

    SHIRA JECZMIEN

    Founder & CEO
    SCREENSHOT Media
    Learn More
  • Sebastian_Katthover

    SEBASTIAN KATTHÖVER

    Head of Audience Development
    Deutsche Welle
    Learn More
  • Daryna Shevchenko

    DARYNA SHEVCHENKO

    CEO
    Kyiv Independent
    Learn More
  • Federica Cherubini

    FEDERICA CHERUBINI

    Director of Leadership Development
    Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism
    Learn More
  • Andreas Bengtsson

    ANDREAS BENGTSSON

    Head of Futures Lab
    Schibsted
    Learn More
  • Christofer Ahlqvist

    CHRISTOFER AHLQVIST

    Chief Editor
    Göteborgs-Posten
    Learn More
  • Patrick Boehler

    PATRICK BOEHLER

    Acting Head of Innovation and Audience Engagement
    Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    Learn More
  • Greg Piechota

    GRZEGORZ PIECHOTA

    Researcher-in-residence
    International News Media Association
    Learn More
  • Konstantins Kuzikovs

    KONSTANTINS KUZIKOVS

    CEO
    Delfi Latvia
    Learn More
  • Charles Minty

    CHARLES MINTY

    Director of Digital Reader Revenues
    The Guardian News and Media
    Learn More
  • Vesa Lindqist

    VESA LINDQVIST

    Strategy and Business Development Manager
    Sanoma Media Finland
    Learn More
  • RAWAN DAMEN

    Director General
    ARIJ (Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism)
    Learn More
  • Tomas Balzekas

    TOMAS BALŽEKAS

    CEO
    15min group
    Learn More
  • CAITLIN CLARKE

    Business Development Director
    Financial Times
    Learn More
  • MARTIN JÖNSSON

    Editorial Development Director
    Bonnier News, Dagens Nyheter
    Learn More
  • LAURA DÖING

    Digital Format and Product Development
    Deutsche Welle (DW)
    Learn More
  • MEELIS MANDEL

    Editor in Chief
    Äripäev
    Learn More
  • MICHAEL KOWALSKI

    Head of Product
    Tortoise Media
    Learn More
  • RICHARD FURNESS

    Managing Director of Consumer Revenues & Publishing
    Guardian
    Learn More
  • KIRILL ARTEMENKO

    Co-founder and CEO
    Paperpaper.ru
    Learn More
  • JOÃO PAULO LUZ

    Digital & Publishing Director
    IMPRESA
    Learn More
  • OLLE ZACHRISON

    Head of Digital News Strategy & Deputy News Commissioner
    Swedish Radio
    Learn More
  • ALEX CHAPKO

    General Manager
    Piano
    Learn More
  • NILS RIISE

    General Manager
    Piano
    Learn More
  • SONALI VERMA

    Director of Business Development
    THE GLOBE AND MAIL
    Learn More
  • GALINA TIMCHENKO

    CER & Publisher
    MEDUZA
    Learn More
  • OLGA RUDENKO

    Editor in Chief
    Kyiv Independent
    Learn More
  • VICTORIA SVANBERG

    Chairman
    NWT Media
    Learn More
  • ROBIN GOVIK

    Director of Development
    Bonnier News
    Learn More
  • WIEBKE MEEDER

    Head of Subscription Growth
    Spiegel
    Learn More
  • KIM PERRY

    Director for International Strategy and Operations
    The New York Times
    Learn More
  • TOMAS BELLA

    Head of Digital
    Denník N
    Learn More
  • RASMUS KLEIS NIELSEN

    Director
    Reuters Institute
    Learn More

agenda 2025

SEPTEMBER 17

12:00 - 13:00

Registration + coffee ☕️

13:00 - 13:15

Opening remarks by Edgars Spuravs & Victoria Svanberg

13:00 - 14:00

“The Axios Model: Inside Axios’ Approach to Innovation, AI, and Business Growth”, Jacquelyn L Cameron, Chief Revenue Officer at Axios

 

14:00 - 14:45

“elDiario.es journey to 100,000 paying members and what we’ve learned along the way”, Rosalía Lloret, CEO at elDiario.es

 

14:45 - 15:15

☕️ Coffee break

15:15 - 16:00

“The Power of Many: What Wikipedia’s Grassroots Fundraising Model Can Teach the Media”, Sheetal Puri, Senior Director, Digital Fundraising at Wikimedia Foundation

While media organizations often look to each other for inspiration, they may be overlooking one of the world’s most successful reader-funded models: Wikipedia. With massive global traffic, the Wikimedia Foundation runs hundreds of A/B tests each year. This gives us deep insight into what actually drives people to take action. This session will explore how Wikipedia stays free, what we’ve learned through rigorous optimization, and what media leaders can take away to build sustainable, reader-supported models of their own.

16:00 - 16:45

“Inside Le Monde’s innovation strategy and approach to AI”, Lou Grasser, Chief Digital Operations Officer at Le Monde

Le Monde has surpassed 665,000 paying subscribers – 90% of them fully digital – with sustained double-digit growth, driven by continuous focus on retention, a high ARPU, and improved profitability. Its AI strategy blends editorial integrity and innovation, through partnerships with OpenAI and Perplexity, to build controlled, value-enhancing products that align with its commitment to visibility, reader trust, and long-term independence.

16:45 - 17:45

Panel discussion: “Resilience amind revenue, AI and geopolitical disruption”

Speakers: Chris Moran (Head of editorial innovation at Guardian News & Media), Lea Korsgaard (Editor-in-chief at Zetland), Yulia Tymoshenko (Journalist at Ukraïner).

Moderator: Jakub Parusinski (Director at The FIX)

 

17:45 - 19:45

🍹 Networking and Drinks

SEPTEMBER 18

8:30 - 9:30

☕️ Coffee

9: 30 - 10:15

“GenAI and journalism: where next?”, Chris Moran, Head of editorial innovation at Guardian News & Media

After two years of grappling with a challenging new technology and its implications for newsroom practice and the wider ecosystem, where do we stand now and what does the future look like? While much of the focus has been on what we build with GenAI, the challenges of the next two years may be more about how we educate ourselves to cover a ubiquitous, complex technology and how we define ourselves and our value to audiences when news summaries are available in every platform, product and device.

10:15 - 11:00

“How we built the Kyiv Independent during war: successes, setbacks, and what we learned”, Zakhar Protsiuk, COO at Kyiv Independent

The Kyiv Independent was founded less than four years ago— and over 90% of its existence has been shaped by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In that time, it has grown from a small startup into one of the country’s largest and most prominent media outlets, trusted by global audiences. This talk shares the key successes, painful setbacks, and lessons from building a resilient newsroom in wartime.

11:00 - 11:30

☕️ Coffee break

11:30 - 12:15

“Making Journalism Profitable: How Denník N Grew from 0 to 80,000 Subscribers”, Tomáš Bella, Co-founder and Chief Digital Officer at Denník N

Slovak news outlet launched a new subscription drive in spring 2025 and attracted 24,000 new trial subscribers in just 10 days. Tomáš Bella, its co-founder and former CEO of the subscription company Piano, will share practical strategies for building a sustainable reader-revenue model outside Western Europe. He’ll also explain how Denník N manages to fund the largest newsroom in Slovakia while prioritizing the most demanding (and expensive) forms of journalism.

12:15 - 13:00

“Zetland’s Journey: Membership, Storytelling, and Nordic Expansion”, Lea Korsgaard, Editor-in-chief at Zetland

Zetland is a Danish media company that has built a sustainable, ad-free model around storytelling, audio journalism, and a close relationship with its 40,000+ members. Lea Korsgaard, its co-founder and editor-in-chief, will focus on how Zetland’s narrative-first approach has driven both its membership growth and financial sustainability. She will also discuss their recent expansion into Finland and share practical advice on developing new ventures based on the Zetland model.

13:00 - 14:00

Lunch 🍝

14:00 - 14:45

“Ukraїner: Adapting in the Time of Constant Change”, Yulia Tymoshenko, Journalist at Ukraïner

When the full-scale invasion began, Ukraïner quickly shifted from its multi-media travel expeditions around Ukraine to war documentation — launching new formats, opening new channels, publishing books, and expanding content in multiple languages to meet the moment. Now, following the abrupt end of long-term institutional support such as USAID, the organization faces a new challenge: to rethink its business model, secure alternative sources of funding, and continue telling the stories that matter. This presentation offers a look at how Ukraïner has navigated past turning points — and how it continues to adapt in a landscape defined by constant change.

14:15 - 15:30

“Re-launching ABC News in Norway: How to disrupt one of the world’s most advanced news markets?”, Matthew Harrison, Head of Media products at ABC Startsiden AS

Join Matthew Harrison as he shares key lessons and strategies behind the launch of the new ABC News for Norway. This session will cover re-launching a major site in a competitive market, with insights on revitalizing the 6th largest news site in Norway; balancing legacy audiences with new segments and the strategies that are driving successful audience expansion; implementing a modern tech stack, and building new content niches.

15:30 - 16:30

Closing Panel Discussion and Remarks

Tickets

INCLUDING COFFEE BREAKS + LUNCH + EVENING RECEPTION

A minimal participation fee is applied, so that we can cover basic expenses of the event – travel and accommodation for speakers, venue hire, lunch and coffee breaks and evening reception. By purchasing the ticket you contribute to the event and the community building amongst media professionals in the region.

REGULAR FEE

€350

GROUP TICKET

For six or more people from one organisation*

€150

Scholarships

Not available

*Payment by invoice is available as well.

Venue

Reinventing Media Business Forum will take place at the STOCKHOLM SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS IN RIGA, a leading business school in the Baltics. It is located in the heart of the famous historical art-nouveau district in the capital of Latvia.

ADDRESS
Stockholm School of Economics in Riga,
Strelnieku Street 4a, Riga (Latvia)

Partners

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