Balding, who was chief executive of WAN before its 2009 merger with IFRA, has worked for the industry group since 1985. He became director general, global affairs, of WAN-IFRA last year.
He worked as a journalist in Britain with stints at the Oxford Mail and Press Association before joining the group.
During his time with the organisation, Balding helped to grow membership from 23 to 122 countries, a release from WAN-IFRA says. He is also responsible for the launch of several industry research projects, including the World Press Trends survey and the Shaping the Future of the Newspaper project.
"Timothy Balding is recognised as a leading advocate for the press worldwide, and his tireless and effective work has benefitted the entire industry in innumerable ways," said Gavin O'Reilly, president of WAN-IFRA, which represents more than 18,000 newspapers and 15,000 websites, in the release.
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