The ceiling at Miami Herald's former headquarters isn't the only one being demolished. Alexandra Villoch has been named the new publisher and president of the Herald -- the first time a woman has ever held the position.
With Mindy Marques Gonzalez as executive editor, the Herald becomes not only one of the few papers with both a female editor and publisher, but also the first major American newspaper with both those positions filled by Latina women.
Look at us, being all nice to the competitor.
Villoch replaces David Landsberg who announced his resignation last month to become the head Goodwill Industries of South Florida. Landsberg's tenure was of course marked by all those leaked memos announcing layoffs and other staff reductions.
Since 2005, Villoch has been the senior vice president for advertising and marketing at the Miami Herald Media Company. Born in Cuba, she immigrated at 2 years old and holds degrees from both Miami Dade College and the University of Miami.
"I look forward to working with all of you to carry out our mission of serving our diverse and vibrant community with credible, dynamic and high-quality journalism," Villoch told staff this morning according to the paper. "We know that what we do makes a different to our community: We celebrate and recognize the best, and we shine light on those dark areas the way no one else can or does."
Clearly the paper decided to go the established insider role by picking Villoch over fresh new innovation. And we don't mean just a Herald insider. She's already firmly ensconced in the local community. She's on the executive committee of the Beacon Council, on the board of governors of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce, on the board of directors of the Miami-Dade College Foundation, and on the board of advisors of the Florida International University Center for Leadership.
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