Amsterdam, 18 October 2006 – Sanoma Magazines has appointed Aimé Van Hecke (46) as Chief Executive Officer of Sanoma Magazines Belgium.

Van Hecke started his career in consumer research. After that, he was a publisher of the second largest newspaper in Belgium Het Nieuwsblad/De Gentenaar . He worked for the public service broadcaster VRT for more than ten years where he became Director General Television in 2003. In this position he was responsible for transforming VRT into one of the best performing public broadcasters of Europe.

Van Hecke states: “Sanoma Magazines is an important media company in this country, with a wide portfolio of strong magazine brands. In this new position I will take advantage of my experience in the media industry to further strengthen Sanoma Magazine’s leading position in the magazine business and to expand its business to other media platforms.”

Eija Ailasmaa, CEO of Sanoma Magazines: “We are very pleased to welcome Aimé van Hecke as the new CEO of Sanoma Magazines Belgium. Aimé is recognized as one of the key players of the transformation process at VRT. Both his extensive experience in the media industry and his ability to bring people together are of great importance for the future development of our company.”

Van Hecke will start his position on January 8, 2007.

Sanoma Magazines

Sanoma Magazines Belgium is part of Sanoma Magazines, one of the largest consumer magazine publishers in Europe.

The company publishes more than 230 magazines in thirteen different countries. Apart from developing its strong portfolio of magazine brands for various reader communities, Sanoma Magazines is expanding its business to other media platforms, with a clear focus on interactivity.

Sanoma Magazinesis a division of SanomaWSOY which is operating in versatile fields of media in over twenty European countries. The group is Finland’s leading media group and the largest media company in the Nordic region.

For additional information (not for publication):

Trudy de Jong

Corporate Communications Sanoma Magazines

[31] (0)20-8512117

[31] (0)6-27402880

T.de.Jong@sanoma-magazines.com