villoch-alex_web.jpgMIAMI ­— The Miami Herald Media Company has tapped a senior vice president as its first female publisher. Alex Villoch, who has headed the advertising and marketing division since 2005, has been named to the top job, according to an announcement from the McClatchy Company, which owns The Herald.

She will take over April 14 from David Landsberg, who is leaving to become president/CEO of Goodwill Industries of South Florida.

Villoch, 56, joined The Herald in 2000 as national advertising director and became director of retail advertising and event marketing in 2001, before becoming senior vice president for advertising and marketing.

She previously worked for United Airlines as general manager for its Miami International Airport and Caribbean operations.

Villoch was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to the U.S. with her parents at age 2. Her father worked for a global construction company and she moved often during childhood, including stays in Puerto Rico, Guatemala, Peru, Louisiana and Texas.

She moved in with relatives in Miami to finish high school, attended Miami Dade College and earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and an MBA from the University of Miami. She is married to Cesar Mendoza, a McClatchy Company IT employee.

Her appointment as the top business executive at The Herald puts two women at the head of the company’s operations.

Aminda “Mindy” Marques is the newspaper’s executive editor.