Hughes named Philadelphia Inquirer’s publisher and CEO

The Philadelphia Inquirer has appointed Lisa Hughes as publisher and chief executive officer, replacing Terry Egger.

The appointment comes after Egger announced his plan to retire, reports Yahoo Finance.

“Lisa Hughes is well-known to the leadership team of The Inquirer and The Lenfest Institute, and is well-positioned to build upon the substantial foundation created by Terry Egger,” said Josh Kopelman, chairman of The Inquirer’s board of directors. “Lisa is a seasoned, high-integrity, high-performance media leader who embodies our values and our strategy. She has a track record as an executive fostering world-class journalism with expertise in transitioning a historically print news business into a multi-platform media powerhouse. I thank Terry for his extraordinary dedication to local journalism, and welcome Lisa to her new role in service of our mission.”

Egger was recruited in 2015 and led the transformation to nonprofit ownership by the Lenfest Institute. He was also named Newspaper Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine in 2018. He has also been a leading national voice in support of the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act.

Throughout my 38 years in journalism, I have focused on our core mission: serving the public with essential, high-impact news and information,” said Egger.  “I could not be more confident in, and excited for, what I know will be Lisa’s continuation of this mission. I am honored to have worked with Gerry Lenfest, the Lenfest Family, and the Lenfest Institute to help pioneer a new community-supported model for public-service journalism. I am deeply grateful to the journalists, business team, subscribers, readers, advertisers, foundations, and individual donors who have joined us in this vital mission. It has been the highlight of my career to be involved in this mission and work with this group of people.”

The new publisher and CEO, Hughes brings an impressive track record, having transitioned an iconic print brand into a multi-platform, profitable business. She comes to the Inquirer from The New Yorker where she launched the New Yorker Radio Hour and Podcast, and restructured The New Yorker Festival into a profitable business.

Prior to The New Yorker, Hughes served as vice president and Publisher of Condé Nast Traveler.

“Philadelphia is the birthplace of free speech, and now in many ways it is ground zero for demonstrating that a deep community commitment to preserving local journalism matters and can be successful,” said Hughes.  “I am equally humbled and honored to serve in this role. I look forward to working closely with The Inquirer team, The Lenfest Institute, the Philadelphia community, and other important partners on this essential work.”