On 25 June, Mart Luik will assume the position of Chairman of the Board of Ajakirjade Kirjastus AS, which is 50% owned by Ekspress Group, to replace Ain Lausmaa, who has held the position for eight years. Priit Leito, Chairman of the Board of Ekspress Group AS, said that under the management of Ain Lausmaa, who organised the successful merger of the journal publishers of two media groups - Eesti Meedia and Ekspress Group - in the summer of 2000, and then took lead of the joint company, the business volumes of Ajakirjade Kirjastus have doubled by now, amounting to approximately MEEK 250. In addition to this, according to Priit Leito, Ajakirjade Kirjastus has managed to successfully broaden its fields of business; as a book publisher, the company has emerged as a market leader with respect to recipe and cookery books. Among the new journals launched recently, Naised and Autobild are the best known. “Regardless of the position already gained on the local market, Ajakirjade Kirjastus has more potential for improving results, which is why we have chosen the path of changes. We wish to increase the profit margin of the publishing house without compromising the journalistic content and quality of the publications,” said Priit Leito. “It is easier for the new manager to make the changes; besides, Mart Luik has gained good experience in recent years, when he was often acting in similar roles on various media markets abroad”. “Ajakirjade Kirjastus, as a market leader, is facing challenges in which, in the conditions of a cooling economy, its position on the advertising market needs to be improved and more efficient work must be done, while continuing to maintain journalism on the same good level. The activities of Ajakirjade Kirjastus directly indicate the role of magazines as a whole on the local media landscape - it is my task to maintain and strengthen that role,” said Mart Luik. In the years 1990-1994, Mart Luik studied journalism at the University of Tartu. He has been the editor-in-chief of Sõnumileht, the editor-in-chief of the news of TV3 Estonia and the executive director of the same TV-channel. He has been the head of DTV Viasat, a Viasat TV-channel in Russia, and TV3 in Slovenia, and developed various projects for the group in Central and Eastern Europe, of which the most important was the project in Ukraine. Mart Luik does not own shares of AS Ekspress Grupp. Additional information: Priit Leito Manager AS Ekspress Grupp Tel: 6698080 E-mail: priit@egrupp.ee