Desai's appointment is initially for two years. He succeeds Trevor Ncube, owner and CEO of the Mail and Guardian. Ncube steps down after a distinguished four years as president of PMSA and NASA. His tenure was the longest of any PMSA president-- from 2003 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2008.
Desai was appointed to the PMSA board on 17 August 2006, when he also joined the board of the Newspaper Association of SA (NASA). He has held a number of senior positions in the print media industry since 1999.
Formerly he was group finance and operations director of what was then Johnnic Publishing. With the merger of Johnnic Publishing and Johnnic Entertainment to form Avusa, Desai was appointed as finance director and later group finance and operations director. In September 2006, he was appointed acting group CEO of Avusa and six months later he was appointed group CEO.
Desai's other interests include a directorship at the Wits Health Consortium and he is a member of the board of governors of the University of Venda Foundation.
Speaking with regards to Ncube, Tony Howard, VP of Print Media SA and CE of Independent Newspapers, said, “In his nearly four years as president of the Newspaper Association and the Print Media Association, Trevor had played a major part in settling the associations into a new structure and ensuring that they functioned professionally within the strategies that had been set for them. He is a staunch supporter of print media and this saw him head many delegations to deal with issues confronting the industry.
“But it is his involvement in and the leadership he provided to ensure the success of the World Association of Newspaper's International Conference in Cape Town in 2007 that will stand amongst the highlights of his very successful tenure as president. The boards of the two associations thank him for his leadership over this period.”
