The publication's former regional advertising manager will work alongside Andrew Rashbass, former chief information officer and managing director of Economist.com, who was named worldwide publisher of The Economist to replace David Hanger.
Hanger will retire next month after more than 30 years at the publication.
Pinnegar, who worked at Leo Burnett/Starcom in London as associate media director from 1987 to 1994, will head advertising, circulation and marketing for The Economist, Intelligent Life, World In and Economist.com.
The promotion will see Pinnegar continue to be based in Singapore. His appointment is part of a new structure put in place by Rashbass.
"There are times when the objectives of the circulation department may not coincide with those of the advertising team. For example, it is easier to build circulation in certain countries or through low-cost bulk copies, but is that necessarily what advertisers are prepared to pay for?," noted Pinnegar. "By putting both functions under one person, it will help to set unified goals and encourage collaboration among the teams."
A similar position will be set up in the US. The new structure will also see the advertising and publishing role split in the UK and Europe, with North America ad director Olly Comyn taking up the post of ad director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The company is expected to appoint a director for circulation in Europe shortly.
Pinnegar said he expected little change to the editorial product. "Editorially, there is a strong product and now it is ensuring that it grows at those levels," he noted. "Asia is actually a group of differing countries, from the mature markets of Singapore and Hong Kong to the rapidly developing ones of India and China. A big challenge is to develop and execute strategies across these countries that can maintain a profitable business, while investing for longer-term growth."
The new structure comes as the weekly international publication hits the million mark in terms of global circulation.