Tom Buhrow has been Director General of the German regional broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) since 2013; he also served as Chairman of the ARD (the joint organization of German public-service broadcasters) from 2020 to 2021 and from August to December 2022. Following his university studies in history and political science and a journalism training, Buhrow had a long career as a reporter, editor and correspondent, including in Washington and Paris, and as the evening news anchor of ARD's flagship news magazine Tagesthemen. Since taking up his post at WDR, he has focused on the station's digital and cross-medial transformation. Television, radio and the Internet have been more closely networked, content has been targeted for non-linear use and innovations have been launched, for example in the field of AI. Under his direction, WDR launched an Innovation Hub in 2019 to focus on trend research and ensure continued strategic development.
