Memo on biz reporter Kansas and his new job

TALKING BIZ NEWS EXCLUSIVE

American Public Media CEO Jon McTaggart sent the following announcement to the staff on Wednesday:

I am pleased to announce that David Kansas has accepted the position of chief operating officer for American Public Media Group.  Dave is a Wall Street Journal veteran, an award-winning journalist and digital startup pioneer who grew up right here in Saint Paul.

As I said during the All Staff meeting in late April (when the Board announced that I would be the next CEO), finding a talented leader to be our next COO has been one of my top initial priorities.  And I know we have found just such a leader.  Dave has terrific journalistic and executive management experience, and his qualifications put him at the top of a list of over one hundred candidates that applied for this open position.

Dave has held a variety of positions with Dow Jones & Company and The Wall Street Journal, including reporter, online deputy managing editor, European markets editor and chief markets commentator.  He also was editor of Money and Investing, and was on the founding team of TheStreet.com where he served as executive vice president, executive editor and chief strategic officer.  Dave holds a bachelor’s degree in American History from Columbia College in New York.

I really like David, for a lot of reasons.  His strengths are complementary to mine and to the strengths of our already-strong senior team.   He will redefine the role of COO with his distinct talents and leadership.

Please join me in welcoming Dave when he arrives a few weeks from now.