The new practice area, Kannon Performance, will help clients to achieve greater innovation, drive organizational effectiveness, and improve performance management.

"We are delighted to augment our strategic planning offerings with a practice area that helps business leaders more effectively address issues of implementation and change management," said Barbara Cohen, president and founder of the Chicago-based strategy and marketing consulting firm.

Kannon specializes in helping clients identify growth opportunities in today's changing marketplace. Its team of analysts and strategists provides insight into the marketplace to create winning strategies based on understanding customers, competitors, channels and technology. Kannon works with firms across a range of industries, including media, healthcare, education, and telecommunications.

In addition to heading the new Performance practice, Zomparelli brings expertise that will enhance Kannon's core offerings, Cohen said.

"Wendy has had extensive experience in crafting business strategies that work," she continued. "She has driven results for her business by implementing sophisticated business plans based on concepts such as audience segmentation and has been in the forefront of newspaper executives forging innovative strategies for winning on the Internet."

Twice under Zomparelli's tenure as publisher, The Roanoke Times has been named the most-read newspaper in the United States by Scarborough. In 2006, the company's website, roanoke.com, swept national awards for best newspaper site in its size category and won numerous awards for its multimedia content. For the past three years, the newspaper's financial performance has led the metro newspapers owned by Landmark Communications.

Leadership development is a key interest for Zomparelli. She serves as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Batten Leadership Institute at Hollins University and is frequently sought as a speaker on various aspects of leadership. She has received numerous awards, including the New Century Women's Leadership Award in 2005.

Zomparelli, who has been with The Roanoke Times for 22 years and has led the paper since 2000, announced her retirement in October.

Zomparelli is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University. She first went to work for The Roanoke Times in 1984, as a staff writer. She soon became assistant features editor, then features editor. In 1992 she was named assistant to the publisher, her first assignment outside of the news department. She led projects in consumer research, advertising rate structures and strategic planning.

In 1995, Zomparelli returned to the news department as editor, directing the department's mission, policies, strategies and daily operations. Three years later, she was named vice president and general manager, responsible for the newspaper's business, circulation, advertising, technology and production departments. She became president and publisher on Dec. 1, 2000.

"Joining Kannon is a terrific opportunity, because it will challenge me to translate what I've learned on the job into plans that help other businesses confront their threats and capture their opportunities," Zomparelli said. "And I can't think of anyone I'd rather work alongside than Barbara. She has an amazing ability to extract major strategies from tiny data points. I'm excited about joining her team."