New vice president of content hired for IBR and sister publications

Idaho Business Review has a new vice president of content.

Sandy Almendarez was hired for the role by IBR parent company BridgeTower Media, tapping a veteran B2B media executive to lead editorial strategy across the company’s more than 40 specialized brands.

Almendarez brings nearly two decades of experience in business media to the role. She most recently served as a content leader at Informa Markets, where she developed persona-driven audience strategies, expanded conference programming and introduced artificial intelligence-powered workflows. Her new responsibilities at BridgeTower span audience growth, editorial standards, AI-enabled content operations and cross-functional collaboration across the company’s full portfolio ― which includes the Idaho Business Review and dozens of regional business publications nationwide.

BridgeTower President and CEO Hal Cohen said Almendarez’s combination of editorial depth and technology fluency made her the right fit for the company’s evolving direction.

“Her track record of building audience-first content programs, paired with her experience scaling conference businesses and embracing emerging technologies, makes her the ideal leader to drive our content transformation,” Cohen said. “We’re thrilled to welcome Sandy to the team.”

Almendarez said she sees significant opportunity to build on the trusted relationships BridgeTower’s brands, including the Idaho Business Review, have cultivated with local business communities.

“There is a tremendous opportunity to deepen audience relationships, elevate content across the portfolio, and unlock new growth by combining editorial excellence with smart use of data and technology,” she said. “I look forward to partnering with the talented teams across the organization to drive that vision forward.”

Her professional work has earned recognition from several industry organizations, including the Jessie H. Neal Awards, the Folio: Eddie Awards and the Tabbie Awards. Informa Markets honored her for leadership excellence in 2025 and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in 2022.

BridgeTower Media reaches more than 4.4 million business decision-makers through its portfolio of B2B media brands and hosts more than 200 events annually. Idaho Business Review covers business, real estate, law, public policy and more throughout the Treasure Valley and statewide.

This story was written using artificial intelligence with human oversight.