Knight Ridder Names Jesus Diaz Jr. as Publisher of The Miami Herald an

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Knight Ridder announced today that Jesus Diaz Jr. will become publisher of The Miami Herald and of el Nuevo Herald, and chairman of The Miami Herald Publishing Co. (MHPC). Diaz is currently general manager of MHPC.

Current Publisher Alberto Ibarguen announced Jan. 28 that he will leave in July to become president and CEO of the Knight Foundation.

David A. Landsberg, currently vice president/advertising for The Herald, will become general manager of MHPC. Alex Villoch, currently director/retail advertising and event marketing for The Herald, will become vice president/advertising. All the appointments become effective in July.

In making the announcement, Knight Ridder Senior Vice President Hilary Schneider said, "We are unusually fortunate to have three such talented individuals to assume these very important roles at this time. It is testament to Alberto Ibarguen's legacy that each is ready for greater responsibility, and as a result, the transition this summer should be seamless.

"Jesus Diaz's knowledge of the Miami market is profound. He has spent most of his career in South Florida; his two primary work experiences -- at Ernst & Young and The Miami Herald -- have given him broad exposure to the local business community. Jesus is results-driven. He focuses on all of our customers -- advertisers, readers and online users -- with a friendly smile and a fierce determination to find the right strategy to meet their needs. He is a high-energy civic leader as well; Jesus will bring great credibility with him as he starts this new job.

"David Landsberg has spent his entire career at The Miami Herald. He is a great advertising vice president who used to be the newspaper's chief financial officer, reflecting two critical skills in the management of our business. He is also an intuitive leader with both a vision for the future and the ability to induce others to buy into that vision. He recruits top talent, even as he continues to broaden his own experience, including time in The Herald newsroom and the Advanced Management Program at Harvard in the spring of 2004.

"Alex Villoch's background in both sales and in management is first-rate. In the five years she has been at The Herald, she has proven herself time and again to be a superb strategist, innovator and implementer. She is also exceptionally well-connected within the Miami community, as reflected in numerous civic affiliations."

Jesus Diaz, 44, has been in his current job since 2002. Prior to that, he had worked twice at Ernst & Young. He started there in 1982, then moved to The Miami Herald in 1993. In 1996, he resigned to become financial services manager for the Greater Europe Group of the Coca-Cola Company. He went back to Ernst & Young in 1997, and became managing partner of the Miami office two years later. Under his leadership, it became the largest accounting firm in South Florida. He returned to The Herald in 2002.

Diaz won the 1995 James K. Batten Knight Ridder Excellence Award for Finance. He has a B.A. in accounting (with highest distinction) from Emory University Business School. Diaz has held memberships in the Miami Children's Hospital Foundation, the Florida International University Foundation, the United Way of Miami-Dade County, the I Have a Dream foundation, Newspapers First, the Florida Venture Forum, Goodwill Industries of Miami-Dade County, the Florida Regional Minority Purchasing Council and Junior Achievement of Greater Miami ad the Miami City Club. He is married with one daughter.

Landsberg, 42, has been vice president/advertising of MHPC since 1999. Prior to that, he was the company's chief financial officer for three years. He started with The Miami Herald in 1984 as a planning manager and held a variety of positions in the newspaper's finance division. He has a B.A. in business administration/finance from the University of Florida and an M.B.A. from the University of Miami. He serves on the board of Goodwill Industries and Newspapers First. He and his wife, Anoly, have three young daughters.

Villoch, 47, has been with MHPC for five years, first as national advertising director. She moved into her current job two years later. Prior to joining The Herald, she was general manager for United Airlines at Miami International Airport, responsible for all Miami and Caribbean operations and sales; she was also government liaison. She holds B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Miami and attended the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University's Media Management Center. Villoch is heavily involved in a variety of civic boards in the arts and business in South Florida, including the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. She has one daughter, a sophomore at Princeton University.

The Miami Herald Publishing Co. publishes The Miami Herald, el Nuevo Herald and various other publications.

Knight Ridder is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with products in print and online. The company publishes 31 daily newspapers in 28 U.S. markets, with a readership of 9.0 million daily and 12.7 million Sunday. Knight Ridder also has investments in a variety of Internet and technology companies and two newsprint companies. The company's Internet operation, Knight Ridder Digital, develops and manages the company's online properties. It is the founder and operator of Real Cities (http://www.realcities.com/), the largest national network of city and regional Web sites in more than 105 U.S. markets. Knight Ridder and Knight Ridder Digital are headquartered in San Jose, Calif.