20 Under 40 - 1995 Profile: Jesus Diaz Jr.

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 1995

Jesus Diaz Jr. has not been in the most enviable position of late. The Miami Herald's vice president of finance and chief financial officer is the point person for making, and articulating, the multimillion-dollar budget cuts under way to help offset rising newsprint prices.

But if anyone can make a silk purse out of a tightened belt, Diaz can, according to Publisher David Lawrence Jr. "Although he doesn't come from a newspaper tradition," Lawrence explains, "he understood rapidly what the soul of this place is—and it's ultimately not money, it's journalism, it's people."

Diaz does not keep his nose buried in the books. Among recent accomplishments, he remains proudest of his role on a Knight-Ridder re-engineering team responsible for launching a corporatewide "shared-services center" Oct. 2. The goal is to centralize functions such as financial transactions and benefits administration.

He also just finished work on a Herald team's "visioning project." Members made off-site visits "to look at changes in the industry and how to position ourselves." One goal of the effort is to improve Herald readership throughout South Florida. Part of the resulting strategy involves the launch of an on-line publishing service slated to begin Jan. 4.

Diaz wants to broaden his involvement in other parts of the organization, saying a holistic viewpoint helps financial executives develop the instincts to make the right decisions. "The more you understand of the operations, the more effective you can be on the financial side," he concludes.