Allan Pizzato will retire as president and CEO of WYES in New Orleans.
Pizzato has led the station since 2013. His last day with the organization is June 30.
“It has been an honor to dedicate my professional career to public television,” Pizzato said in a news release. “Working at WYES-TV and living in New Orleans has been a highlight of my career. I am very fortunate to have had the support of an excellent staff, a dedicated board, and the greater New Orleans community.”
In 2018, WYES produced documentaries, books and tourism markers for New Orleans’ Tricentennial. The station also created new programs during Pizzato’s tenure, including Kevin Belton’s New Orleans Kitchen, Kitchen Queens: New Orleans and more programs dubbed “WYES Originals.”
In the release, Board Chair Anne Redd credited Pizzato with helping create a $17 million headquarters that opened in 2017.
Before WYES, Pizzato led Alabama Public Television. He was dismissed by political appointees to the Alabama Educational Television Commission in 2012 after a programming dispute.
He started his career in 1975 as a producer and director for WSIU in Carbondale, Ill., where he later became GM. In 1988, he became GM for WSRE in Pensacola, Fla., where he oversaw the creation of its current $7 million headquarters that opened in 1994.
In retirement, Pizzato plans to spend time with his first grandchild and travel with friends and family, according to the release.
Allan has done an outstanding job at WYES. He has earned a long and productive retirement. Congratulations, my friend.