Greg Kesich is retiring as the editorial page editor of the Portland Press Herald after more than a decade in the role.

Siobhán Brett will take over as opinion editor starting Monday.

Kesich started at the paper in 1994 as a news assistant and became a reporter in 1998. His beats included York County, the state Legislature and the courts before he was named an editorial writer in 2007 and then editorial page editor in 2011. In that role, Kesich wrote editorials on behalf of the paper’s editorial board, had a column of his own, oversaw the paper’s endorsements of political candidates, managed op-ed columnists, edited the Sunday Insight section and introduced the Meetinghouse feature of reader-submitted pieces.

Kesich, 60, leaves a lasting legacy, said Steve Greenlee, the newspaper’s executive editor.

“Greg has been the public conscience of the Portland Press Herald for more than a decade, and he has been a major presence within the newsroom for the past three decades,” Greenlee said. “He knows and cares as much about the geopolitical forces that shape the world as he does about politics in Augusta and zoning on Munjoy Hill. His sophistication, sharp intellect and incisive writing will be sorely missed.”

In addition to his role as editorial page editor, Kesich also was part of the Portland News Guild leadership for more than a decade and a key member of a group that persuaded Donald Sussman to invest in the newspaper when it was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2011.

“We owe Greg a debt of gratitude for the work he did to secure a sustainable future for the Press Herald and all of our employees,” Lisa DeSisto, CEO of Masthead Maine, said earlier this year in announcing Kesich’s plans to retire. Masthead Maine owns the Portland newspaper and four other daily newspapers, 25 weekly papers and other media in the state.

Kesich said he feels it’s time for him to move on.

“Ten years is a long time in this job, and I’m ready for a change – and I think the readers would probably welcome one, too,” Kesich said. “It’s been an incredible opportunity to have this platform and be able to speak on a lot of issues and I’ve felt very lucky,”

Kesich said he has no immediate plans for retirement but will stay in Maine.

Brett comes to the papers from the American Public Media Show “Marketplace,” which can be heard on National Public Radio. She has been a planning editor and digital editor of the show since 2019. During the pandemic, she has worked remotely from Portland for “Marketplace,” which is based out of New York.

Before joining “Marketplace,” she was a freelance writer and editor and also a staff reporter for Mergermarket, a business wire service. She also worked as a reporter for The Business Post in Dublin, Ireland, and has a bachelor’s degree in civil law from the National University of Ireland and a master’s degree in journalism from Dublin City University.

“We are beyond thrilled that Siobhán is joining our team,” Greenlee said. “She’s fluent in world events and economics, curious about the world around her, and enthusiastic about making an impact through the Press Herald’s opinion journalism. I can’t wait to see the great things she’s going to do.”

Brett said she’s eager to start in her new job.

“I’m extremely energized by the prospect of a return to newspapering at a pivotal time for local journalism here and everywhere,” Brett said. “Grateful to have the opportunity to carry on the presentation of a reliable cross section of views on a sweep of subjects, the tradition of lively engagement with readers across Maine, and to learn and contemplate with the help of people as many and varied as possible.”

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