By Ryan Sharrow  – Editor in Chief, Philadelphia Business Journal

Longtime media executive Lisa Hughes will become the next publisher of the Philadelphia Inquirer, replacing Terry Egger who plans to retire after less than five years in the job.

Hughes will officially take over for Egger on Feb 3. She has been on the board of the Inquirer since 2018 and is the former publisher and chief business officer at the New Yorker.

Hughes becomes the first woman publisher and CEO of the Inquirer in the daily newspaper’s 190-year history.

“Philadelphia is the birthplace of free speech, and now in many ways it is ground zero for demonstrating that a deep community commitment to preserving local journalism matters and can be successful,” Hughes said in a statement.

In a memo to colleagues, Egger wrote the timing is right to step down as publisher and said he is looking forward to spending more time with his family.

During his tenure, Egger, 62, led the transformation of the Inquirer to nonprofit ownership by the Lenfest Institute, a structure designed to enable the long-term sustainability of the paper.

Hughes spent more than eight years as chief business officer at the New Yorker before departing from the role in 2017. She’s also held the role of vice president at Conde Nast Traveler.

Josh Kopelman, chairman of the Inquirer’s board of directors, called Hughes “a seasoned, high-integrity, high-performance media leader who embodies our values and our strategy.”