Weekly biz reporter in Seattle to take national role with parent company

Kirsten Grind, a reporter for the Puget Sound Business Journal, is leaving the Seattle-based paper to take a national reporting spot with its parent company, American City Business Journals.

Grind writes, “But, actually, I am leaving the Puget Sound Business Journal and today is my last day. I have to be a bit mysterious about what I’m doing next, suffice to say that I’ll remain with the newspaper’s parent company, American City Business Journals, working on a new endeavor that will allow me to cover finance on a national scale. You will hear a lot more about this in the coming weeks and months.

“Meanwhile, your first question is likely to be: Who will take over leading the Business Journal’s award-winning coverage of banking and finance across the Puget Sound region? The answer is: My very capable colleague Kelly Gilblom, who will take over the position that she filled while I was on leave. Gilblom will continue to cover wealth management firms and Russell Investments, as well as banks and other finance companies throughout the region.”

Grind is best known for her coverage of the collapse of Washington Mutual. Grind and her colleagues at the paper were Pulitzer finalists for the coverage in 2009, the first time an ACBJ paper has been a Pulitzer finalist.

Grind then took a leave from the paper to write a book about the bank.

Her former boss, Puget Sound Business Journal publisher Emory Thomas, recently left the paper to become chief content officer at ACBJ’s headquarters in Charlotte.