Chris Moerdyk appointed probono chairman of the board of the Catholic Newspaper and Publishing Co.

Chris Moerdyk has been appointed probono chairman of the board of the Catholic Newspaper and Publishing Company Limited, owners of the 87-year-old weekly Southern Cross tabloid. His mandate is to use the newspaper as a platform to develop additional media, specifically digital, in order to reach more of South Africa's three million Catholics. The majority shareholding in the company is held by the South African Catholics Bishops Conference (SACBC) which is represented on the newspaper's board by SACBC President, Archbishop Buti Thlagale and Secretary General, Fr Vincent Brennan. The Southern Cross enjoys full editorial independence under editor Gunther Simmermacher.

Moerdyk is a regular contributor on marketing and media matters to BizCommunity.com and is a marketing analyst living in Simon's Town.