our leaders
conan Gallaty
Tampa Bay Times/Times Publishing Company
contact
Tel: 727-893-8703
E-mail: cgallaty@tampabay.com
Conan Gallaty is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Times Publishing Company. He oversees all business operations of the company, including advertising, circulation and operations.
Prior to his current role, Conan was the Company’s president. He also has served as its chief digital officer, responsible for digital strategy and business development as well as all technical operations for the Times. Before coming to the Times, he was President of Digital for WEHCO Media, an Arkansas-based company with newspapers, digital agencies and cable systems across six states. Before joining WEHCO, Conan was the Director of Online Strategy and Operations for Herald-Tribune Media Group in Sarasota, then a division of the New York Times Regional Media Group as well as Online Director for The Augusta Chronicle, a Morris Communications newspaper located in Augusta, Georgia.
In more than 20 years working in digital media, Conan has received numerous awards for his work in news coverage, design, advertising innovation and development of new digital businesses.
Conan began his career as a journalist, starting in the newsroom of the News-Tribune in his hometown of Rome, Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with degrees in Journalism and Business.
News
Mark Katches
Vice President/ Editor
contact
Tel: 727-893-8441
E-Mail: mkatches@tampabay.com
Twitter: @markkatches
Mark Katches is the vice president and editor of the Tampa Bay Times. He assumed the role as the top editor in August 2018. In that time, the newsroom has won the Pulitzer Prize twice and has been a finalist once. He previously served as editor and vice president of content at The Oregonian/OregonLive in Portland, where his newsroom grew its digital audience by more than 70% while winning numerous national journalism awards for investigative reporting, breaking news coverage and narrative writing.
Before moving to Portland, Katches was editorial director of The Center for Investigative Reporting, where he helped launch a startup investigative website focusing on accountability reporting in California. He helped grow the center’s newsroom from a team of about a dozen watchdog journalists into what was at the time the largest investigative reporting newsroom in the country, with about 50 journalists. Katches also built investigative reporting teams at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Orange County Register, and he directly edited Pulitzer-winning projects in local reporting in 2008 and 2010. He served as a consulting editor on another Pulitzer winner, in the public service category, in 2015. Before joining the Times, stories he directed have been named finalists for the Pulitzer five times.
A California native who earned his journalism degree at San Jose State University, Katches has taught journalism as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and Stanford University. He completed the year-long Punch Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia University in 2013. Katches served on the board of directors at Investigative Reporters & Editors, where he oversaw the organization’s mentorship program for six years. He is a member of The Poynter Institute’s National Advisory Board, the KFF Health News advisory board and the advisory board of the University of Tampa journalism school. He is currently president of the Florida Society of News Editors.
Traci Johnson
contact
Tel: 727-432-1542
E-mail: traciljohnson@tampabay.com
Twitter: @TBHomeTeam
Traci Johnson is the managing editor for sports, production and visuals at the Tampa Bay Times. She oversees all sports coverage, including the area’s major professional teams: the Buccaneers, the Lightning and the Rays.
She joined the Times 25 years ago as a summer intern. Throughout her tenure at the Times, Johnson has held a variety of posts in the newsroom. She was the editor in charge of directing coverage of high school and college sports and Sunday enterprise. She also was the assigning editor for all major non-beat sporting events, such as the Grand Prix, the Valspar Championship and the Gasparilla Distance Classic.
A native of Alabama, Johnson is the first woman to hold the position of sports editor at the Times.
Claire McNeill
Deputy Managing Editor/Enterprise
Internship Director
contact
E-mail: cmcneill@tampabay.com
Claire McNeill is the deputy managing editor for enterprise at the Tampa Bay Times, working with the enterprise team and the broader newsroom to produce signature narrative and explanatory journalism. The enterprise team is home to a decorated roster of storytellers, including a Pulitzer Prize winner and a nationally syndicated columnist.
McNeill co-leads the Times’ internship program, hiring and shaping future Times reporters. She started at the Times as an intern in the summer of 2013, returning the next year after graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She worked as a reporter covering general assignment news and features, higher education and nightside breaking news before becoming an editor in 2022.
Allison Ross
Assistant Managing Editor for Local News
contact
E-mail: aross@tampabay.com
Allison Ross is the assistant managing editor for local news at the Tampa Bay Times. She oversees the coverage of local and state politics and government news, as well as the culture team.
Ross joined the Times in 2019 as a reporter. Before becoming an assistant managing editor, she was senior editor of the state politics and government team.
Before coming to the Times, Ross previously worked at the Louisville Courier Journal, Bankrate and The Palm Beach Post.
She and her family live in St. Petersburg.
Christian Blauvelt
Assistant Managing Editor for Digital Engagement
contact
E-mail: cblauvelt@tampabay.com
Zachary T. Sampson
Investigative Editor
contact
E-mail: zsampson@tampabay.com
Zachary T. Sampson is the investigative editor at the Tampa Bay Times, guiding a team of journalists focused on accountability reporting. He was previously an investigative reporter and has covered the environment, breaking news and public safety. He has reported from the field in several hurricanes as a member of one of the newsroom’s frontline go teams.
While working with other reporters, Sampson has investigated destructive water pollution across Florida, misspending at job placement agencies, a crisis of car thefts in Pinellas County and high numbers of police calls at local Walmarts. He has also documented Tampa Bay’s substantial — and growing — flood risks.
Sampson co-leads the Times’ internship program and was an intern himself in 2013. He grew up in Rhode Island and moved to Florida after graduating from Northeastern University.
Graham Brink
Viewpoints Editor
contact
Tel: 727-893-8406
E-mail: gbrink@tampabay.com
Graham Brink is the Viewpoints Editor for the Tampa Bay Times. His previous title was Editor of Editorials, a job he moved into in 2020, after having served as the Times’ business columnist. He also has served as an assistant managing editor of Metro/Business. In his previous editing role, Graham oversaw much of the Times’ local and state coverage, including the Tallahassee bureau.
Graham joined the Times in 1997 as an intern in the Pasco County bureau. He spent the next 10 years as a reporter, working out of Hernando and Hillsborough counties, before moving to a general assignment beat in St. Petersburg. He became an assistant metro editor in 2007. The next year, he moved to business, where he edited a series of stories about nuclear power plants that won a Gerald Loeb Award, one of only two the Times had received at that point. In 2014, he was promoted to metro editor. He was named assistant managing editor for Metro/Business in 2016.
His work as a reporter won many awards, including in 2016 for a first place finish in the Society for Features Journalism contest for a story about becoming the second person ever to complete the official Florida Divide mountain bike race from Georgia to the Everglades. His writing about Morocco was selected for the 2003 edition of Best American Travel Writing.
Graham earned a bachelor’s degree from Queen’s University and master’s from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill.
Before joining the Times, he eked out a meager living as a freelance photographer and ran a small lawn care company. The best decision he every made was asking his wife to marry him. They live in St. Petersburg with their son.
Business
Bala Sundaramoorthy
President and Chief Operating Officer
contact
Tel: 404-683-4746
E-mail: balas@tampabay.com
Bala Sundaramoorthy is the president and chief operating officer of Times Publishing Company. He oversees all business operations of the company, including digital, print, finance, technology, products and operations across all divisions.
Prior to his current role, Sundaramoorthy spent 10 years with Cox Enterprises, a $21 billion global company, leading several business units with full P&L responsibilities. In his most recent role, he transformed a legacy media company into a thriving digital multimedia company, boosting subscriber growth, revenue and EBITDA. Key accomplishments include concepting a new business model, diversifying revenue streams and expanding market presence.
Sundaramoorthy’s 30-year career history includes expertise in business strategy, operations, mergers and acquisitions, products, technology, e-commerce, customer relationships, and management consulting. His industry experience includes software services, financial services, media and entertainment, insurance, and professional services. He accelerated digital transformation by leveraging industry-leading talent in areas such as artificial intelligence, the cloud, digital platforms, data and analytics, and customer experience.
Sundaramoorthy’s passion is in driving innovation at the intersection of business and technology.
Sundaramoorthy maintains an active schedule of professional and community activities. He has served on the boards of professional organizations and provides advisory consulting to industry peers in media and technology. He has engaged his leadership skills as a board member for those with disabilities via the Bobby Dodd Institute and serves as a board member of America’s Newspapers, an advocacy organization for the industry.
Sundaramoorthy holds an MBA from Emory University and certifications in the Chief Operating Officer program, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Jay Rey
Vice President of Client Strategy and Advertising
contact
Tel: 727-543-0960
E-mail: jrey@tbnweekly.com
Justo “Jay” Rey is the vice president of client strategy and advertising at the Tampa Bay Times. He is a seasoned leader in the media industry and is the president of Tampa Bay Beacons, where he has played a pivotal role in the company’s remarkable growth and expansion. He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida International University and an MBA from Nova Southeastern University.
Rey’s career began at Tampa Bay Beacons in 2007 when he relocated from South Florida to join the company as sales manager. His leadership and strategic vision facilitated the successful integration of The Tampa Tribune’s Suncoast News team, leading to his promotion to general manager in 2016. In 2019, he advanced to associate publisher, and by 2021, he was appointed president. Under his stewardship, Tampa Bay Beacons has seen its circulation soar from 185,000 to over 350,000, encompassing 13 titles.
In addition to his role at Tampa Bay Beacons, Rey serves as the vice chair of the Florida Press Association board, where he contributes to the advancement of the press industry in Florida.
Morgan Whiteley
Vice President of Marketing and Philanthropy
contact
Tel: 727-893-8134
E-mail: mwhiteley@tampabay.com
Morgan Whiteley is the vice president of marketing and philanthropy at the Tampa Bay Times. She came to the Times in 2024 from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette with a strong track record of supporting local news through purpose-driven growth. Her work in philanthropy and live journalism events has helped the Times advance in ways that are both sustainable and responsive to community needs. In her role, Whiteley oversees marketing, external communications, events and philanthropic initiatives for the Times and its many publications.
She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech and brings more than 15 years of experience in experiential events, advertising, media planning and buying, sales, marketing, nonprofit strategy consulting, community engagement, and business development to her current role.
Whiteley is an avid traveler who loves camping and hiking in national parks.
Pete Niestroy
Director of Finance and Accounting
contact
E-mail: pniestroy@tampabay.com
Pete Niestroy is the director of finance and accounting at the Tampa Bay Times. He is a seasoned finance leader with more than 30 years of experience leading high-performing finance teams. Niestroy has a proven track record of partnering with business unit leaders to align financial KPIs with strategic objectives, driving enhanced decision-making and operational efficiency. He excels in financial reporting, strategic planning and collaborating to deliver measurable results.
Niestroy lives in St. Petersburg and enjoys paddle boarding, calisthenics and dominoes.
Kerry O'Reilly
Marketing Director
contact
Tel: 727-893-8411
E-mail: koreilly@tampabay.com
Kerry O’Reilly is the marketing director at the Tampa Bay Times. He has served in the marketing department since 2000 and has contributed to major campaigns, including renaming the newspaper from the St. Petersburg Times to the Tampa Bay Times and activating the naming rights for the St. Pete Times Forum, now Benchmark International Arena.
O’Reilly leads the creative marketing department, which creates print and digital campaigns for local businesses. This award-winning team also creates promotional campaigns for the Times’ suite of publications. He also leads the Bay magazine team and community partnerships.
In the community, O’Reilly has served in leadership roles for the Tampa Bay Chamber, the USF AMA Student Advisory Council, Ronald McDonald House Tampa Bay, the Tampa Bay Business Coalition for the Arts and St. Pete First United Methodist Church.
On the personal side, O’Reilly and his wife, Linda Kay O’Reilly, have two adventurous adult daughters. In his free time, O’Reilly enjoys playing music and serves as a part-time adjunct professor of marketing at the University of South Florida.
Rohini Murthy
Director of People and Culture
contact
E-mail: rmurthy@tampabay.com
Rohini Murthy is the director of people and culture at Times Publishing Company. She has over 25 years of human resources leadership experience across global organizations and dynamic media environments.
Murthy joined the company in 2025. Prior to her current role, she served as the director of human resources at Boston Globe Media Partners, where she partnered with editorial and business leaders to drive cultural transformation and build high-performing, inclusive teams in the newsroom. Her work has spanned executive coaching, succession planning, global HR operations and total rewards strategy — always with a focus on aligning people practices with business goals.
Murthy’s career journey has taken her from startups to international teams, launching HR functions in the UK, Netherlands, India and Poland, and guiding organizations through growth and mergers and acquisitions. She’s widely recognized for her thoughtful communication, strategic mindset and ability to lead with both empathy and clarity.
She holds a master’s degree in human resources, an MBA in international business and is SPHR-certified. Beyond her credentials, Murthy is passionate about the evolving role of HR in shaping inclusive, forward-thinking organizations, enhancing the employee experience and deepening human connection — especially in virtual environments.
Outside of work, Murthy is a lifelong learner and avid traveler, having visited over 50 countries. She believes culture isn’t just a buzzword — it’s something we live and breathe every day.