ImpreMedia Board of Directors Selects Monica Lozano as Chief Executive Officer

NEW YORK, May 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The ImpreMedia Board of Directors has elected Monica C. Lozano as chief executive officer of the company. She will assume the office immediately.

(Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080415/LATU040LOGO)

Lozano, 53, has been in a leadership position at impreMedia since its founding in January 2004, and has over 25 years of Hispanic media experience across virtually all business lines. She is currently publisher and CEO of La Opinion, and SVP impreMedia, overseeing the company's publishing group including America's oldest Spanish language daily, El Diario La Prensa in New York.

"Monica's deep experience in media, her broad relationships among key stakeholder groups, and her demonstrated ability to understand the dynamics of our industry and constructively lead an organization towards new growth opportunities made her the best person for the position," said Steve Rader, of Clarity Partners. The search committee considered both internal and external candidates and included board members Rader, Bruce Eatroff, Jose Lozano and interim CEO, Michael Wortsman who will now become Chairman of the Board.

Lozano has been in Hispanic media since 1985 when she joined La Opinion, the largest Spanish language daily newspaper in the country, founded by her grandfather in 1926. She quickly rose through the organization assuming responsibility for sales, marketing and operations of the newspaper.  At impreMedia, she oversaw the restructuring of the company taking it from a traditional newspaper platform to one of the most successful multi-media News and Information Company's serving the Hispanic community in America. She is considered one of the most accomplished Latinas in business and serves on the board of directors of two Fortune 50 companies, Bank of America and The Walt Disney Company. At the invitation of President Obama, she also serves on the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB).  

"I am honored to have the opportunity to lead this organization at such an important time. We have everything we need to be one of the most successful media companies in the country today including well established and respected brands, high quality content, deep relationships with one of the most important and influential population groups in America, and a distribution network that allows us to meet their informational needs on the platforms of their choice," said Lozano.

"I plan to focus my attention on strengthening our digital capabilities, our multi-platform content offering and our ability to meet advertiser expectations across these dimensions," continued Lozano.  "And we have the right people to make this happen. I look forward to this new challenge and appreciate the confidence of the board and this organization."

Lozano follows John Paton who left impreMedia in January to become CEO of the Journal Register Company. Michael Wortsman, who had been serving as interim-CEO since Paton left, has joined the Board of Directors of impreMedia as Chairman.

About Monica Lozano

Monica Lozano is Publisher and CEO of La Opinion, the nation's largest Spanish language daily newspaper, as well as Sr. Vice President of Newspapers for impreMedia LLC, overseeing the newspaper chain.  

Lozano is one of the most influential and nationally recognized Hispanic leaders in the country and has received numerous awards including AdWeek's "Media All Stars". La Opinion has gained the reputation as the leading Spanish language print media outlet in the United States receiving such awards as "Best Hispanic Daily Newspaper" from the National Association of Hispanic Publications.  Monica serves on the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company and Bank of America Corporation.  In February, 2009, she was appointed as a member to the President's Economic Recovery Advisory Board by President Barack Obama.  

About impreMedia

ImpreMedia (http://www.impremedia.com) is the No. 1 Hispanic News and Information Company in the U.S. in Online and Print. ImpreMedia's multi-platform offerings range from Online to Video, Widgets, Social Media, Mobile, Audio and Print and encompass 97 products on 7 platforms, including the portal www.impre.com and its McClatchy partners. 31% of all U.S. Hispanic adults use an impreMedia network product. The network is also the nation's largest Hispanic newspaper publisher with newspapers in the top 7 U.S. Hispanic markets, reaching 16 markets total and representing 61% of the U.S. Hispanic population. Its leading publications include La Opinion in Los Angeles and El Diario La Prensa in New York.

ImpreMedia portals and publication websites are: www.impre.com, www.imprerewards.com, www.lavibra.com, www.impreautos.com, www.laopinion.com, www.eldiariony.com, www.hoynyc.com, www.laraza.com, www.laprensafl.com, www.elmensajero.com, www.rumbonet.com, www.vistamagazine.com, and www.contigola.com.

ImpreMedia, LLC was formed in 2004 as the first ever national Spanish-language print and digital news and information company in the United States targeting the growing Hispanic population. ImpreMedia originally combined the forces of La Opinion and El Diario/La Prensa, the leading Spanish-language daily newspapers in Los Angeles and New York. ImpreMedia is backed by a private investment group led by Clarity Partners, Halyard Capital, ACON Investments, and the Lozano family. Clarity Partners is a private equity firm based in Los Angeles, managing over US$1 billion and focused on the media, communications, and business services sectors.  Halyard is a private equity firm based in New York, with over $600 million of capital under management focused on investing in education, information and marketing Services, communications and media companies.  ACON Investments is a diversified private equity firm based in Washington, D.C., with more than $400 million of capital under management. ACON has portfolio investments in the United States, Latin America and Europe. The Lozano family originally founded La Opinion, and have owned and/or operated La Opinion for almost 85 years.

SOURCE impreMedia