BY CHRISTINA HOAG

Jesús Díaz, Jr., general manager of the Miami Herald Publishing Co., will become the company's new publisher in July, succeeding Alberto Ibargüen who announced his resignation last month, Knight Ridder said Tuesday.

Díaz will be replaced by David Landsberg, currently vice president of advertising, who has been with The Herald for the past 21 years.

Director of retail advertising and event marketing Alexandra Villoch will step into Landsberg's position.

The new leadership team, announced by Knight Ridder Senior Vice President of Newspapers Hilary Schneider, was greeted by rousing cheers from assembled employees.

''I couldn't be more thrilled. This really talks about the momentum and team that Alberto built,'' Schneider said. ``Your applause says it all.''

Diaz, 44, was born in Havana, Cuba, and immigrated in 1970 with his parents to Atlanta, where he grew up and graduated from Emory University with a degree in accounting and finance.

He started his career as an accountant at Ernst & Young in Atlanta before transferring to the firm's Miami office in 1989, where he worked on Knight Ridder accounts among others.

In 1993, he joined The Herald, rising to vice president and chief financial officer before leaving three years later to work as financial services manager with theCoca-Cola Co.'s Greater Europe Group.

He later rejoined Ernst & Young in Miami as managing partner and returned to The Herald in 2002 as general manager.

Díaz, who married his high school sweetheart Amy Castle, with whom he has a daughter, said his foremost goal is to keep The Herald as one of Knight Ridder's top-performing newspapers.

''The challenge is to keep the momentum going. We have a great market. It's not just growing, it's changing. With change comes opportunities. We need to ensure we respond to those market changes,'' he said.

Landsberg, the new general manager, has spent his career with The Herald, which he joined in 1984 in the finance department after graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in finance. He also holds an MBA from the University of Miami.

Landsberg, 42, was appointed vice president of advertising in 1999, supervising a staff of 300. He recently won a Knight Excellence Award.

Landsberg promised to keep communication channels open with readers, advertisers and staff. ''This will be leadership that listens internally and externally, both,'' he said. ``We have great financial resources to meet the needs of readers and advertisers.''

Villoch, 47, assumes the vice presidency of advertising after two years as director of retail advertising and event marketing. She joined The Herald in 2000 as national advertising director after eight years in top posts with United Airlines.

Prior to that, she held senior positions in finance with Southeast Bank and Eastern Airlines. She holds an MBA and BA from the University of Miami.

Ibargüen, who is leaving the Herald to take over as president of the Knight Foundation, said he was confident that he was leaving the newspaper in solid hands. ''I couldn't feel better about this wonderful group of people,'' he said.