Press releases and newsletter

Philip Chetwynd, 43, AFP’s editor-in-chief for the Asia-Pacific region, is appointed Central Editor-in-Chief to replace Florence Biedermann, who takes over as Director of the Europe/Africa region. He will take up his duties on October 1.

Philip Chetwynd, a Briton, joined AFP in 1996 as a journalist on the Middle East desk in Nicosia, and then moved to the Asia-Pacific Department in Hong Kong. He served as Deputy Director of the Beijing bureau until 2001, and then held several journalistic assignments in Paris and Hong Kong, where he was named Deputy Editor-in-Chief and then Editor-in-Chief for the Asia-Pacific region in 2006.

From North Korea to Iran by way of Yemen and Mongolia, he has reported from scores of countries and covered or supervised coverage of numerous events, including the 9/11 attacks, the 2004 and 2011 tsunamis, the Afghanistan conflict. He also contributed to developing the video service in Asia and to the setting-up of AFP’s first multimedia editorial operation in Hong Kong.

Christophe Vogt, 46, deputy Central Editor-in-Chief, is appointed Editor-in-Chief, France. He took up this position on June 19.

He joined AFP in 1994 as a correspondent in Bonn and then in Frankfurt, where he notably covered the Bundesbank. Specializing for a decade on economic issues, he was involved in covering the birth of the euro as a reporter responsible for world macro-economics in Paris. In 2000, he was appointed to the economic unit in New York covering American finance. He helped to cover the September 11 attacks and the accounting scandals that led, in particular, to Enron’s resounding bankruptcy. In 2003, Christophe Vogt went to Washington to head up AFP’s economic service in North America. He worked as a correspondent in Afghanistan from April to September 2006, covering the Taliban insurrection. Returning to Washington in September 2006, he was appointed deputy to the regional Editor-in-Chief, before being appointed deputy to AFP’s Central Editor-in-Chief in September 2011.

Catherine Triomphe, 47, replaces Christian Chaise, appointed Regional Director for the Mideast, as Editor-in-Chief for Europe/Africa. She will take up her duties in December.

A graduate of HEC (Hautes Etudes Commerciales) with a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Berkeley in California, Catherine Triomphe got her journalistic start in the United States before joining AFP in 1990 as an economic reporter and later as a correspondent in the Moscow bureau. After training in documentary production, she moved to the agency’s Video Department in 2001 before serving as Editor-in-Chief in the Brussels bureau from 2006 to 2009. She then became deputy managing editor in Paris.

Pierre André-Romagny, 46, is appointed Technical Editor-in-Chief, replacing Pierre Célérier, who is joining the news directorate as deputy to the director. He will begin his duties on July 1.

Pierre André-Romagny, who joined AFP in 1990, is a network and photo expert. He had been in charge of “Networks and Infrastructure” in Paris since 2007, and previously served for eight years as Asia-Pacific Regional Technical Manager, a period during which he developed a close relationship with the editorial staff. He also took an active part in the deployment of Image Forum.