French-born stock-industry veteran Paul Melcher is the new director of the North American division of leading British editorial agency
Rex Features. Melcher will head a soon-to-open New York sales and production office. Rex also has U.S. operations in Red Bank, New Jersey, and in Los Angeles.
Established in 1954, Rex has become one of two top editorial-image sources in the U.K. The company has amassed over 15 million images, with 2.5 million of these online. It is also growing, as evidenced by recent investments in a site revamp, new director of sales and marketing, upcoming Manhattan location and a hint of more to come. CEO John Selby said Melcher joins the company at "a very exciting period in the development of our business." For the moment, the company is focusing on replicating its solid reputation in the U.K. on U.S. soil.
Named among the 50 most influential people in American photography by American Photo, Rex's new hire was literally born into the image industry. The son of a retired photojournalist who once ran the famed Magnum collective, Melcher has spent nearly two decades working at a number of image companies, most recently as the head of the sales team at Digital Railroad. Previously, he ran North American sales and operations for Hachette Filippachi Photo Group and served as president of Abaca US, executive vice-president of ImageDirect and in several executive-level roles at Corbis. Melcher is the author of the photo-industry blog Thoughts of a Bohemian.