Knight Foundation’s Alberto Ibargüen receives top Beacon Council award
The Miami-Dade Beacon Council awarded Knight Foundation president and CEO Alberto Ibargüen with the Jay Malina Leadership award last week, recognizing him with its highest honor for promoting informed, engaged communities in Miami.
Ibargüen has been head of Knight since 2005. During his tenure, Ibargüen has overseen Knight’s shift from supporting journalism to also transforming cities by bringing together cities and neighborhoods. Since 2012, Knight has invested $30 million in Miami’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, alongside $165 million dedicated to uplifting the city’s arts and culture sphere.
Ibarguen is also the former publisher of the Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald.
“Our goal is engagement,” Ibargüen said in a recent interview with the Herald. “Our goal is a functioning democracy through engagement by informed people. So we look to see what’s going on, and what we can leverage and what we can accelerate.”
The other awardees from the county’s official economic development agency included:
Business Climate & Policy Award (presented by Florida Blue):
▪ Honoree: Kaufman Rossin & The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade
▪ Finalists: Florida Small Business Development Council at FIU; Wynwood Business Improvement District
Economic Development Marketing Award (presented by Baptist Health South Florida):
▪ Honoree: City of Miami Gardens
▪ Finalists: Innovation City podcast; WhereBy.Us/ The New Tropic
Education & Workforce Development Award (presented by Bank of America):
▪ Honoree: Florida Power & Light
▪ Finalists: Ironhack U.S., LLC ; Year UP South Florida
Entrepreneurship & Innovation Award (presented by John S. and James L. Knight Foundation):
▪ Honoree: CIC Miami
▪ Finalists: 500 Startups; Babson College WIN (Women Innovating Now) LAB
Physical Infrastructure & Resiliency Award (presented by Dosal Tobacco Corp.)
▪ Honoree: Brightline/ Virgin Trains USA
▪ Finalists: City of Miami Beach; Miami-Dade County + Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC
Target Industries & Leadership Award (presented by Florida Power & Light)
▪ Honoree: Natural Vitamins Laboratory
▪ Finalists: DBK Concepts; Kaseya
This story was originally published July 2, 2019 at 6:30 PM.