NBC News has announced that Top Story‘s Tom Llamas will succeed Lester Holt as the anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News.

The announcement was made by Janelle Rodriguez, NBC News Executive Vice President, Programming. The award-winning journalist will also retain his role as anchor of Top Story with Tom Llamas on NBC News NOW each weeknight.

“Tom has the winning combination of journalistic excellence, passionate storytelling and unyielding integrity—all characteristics that have long been trademarks of NBC Nightly News,” says Rodriguez, adding, “Additionally, he’s been instrumental in growing NBC News NOW into the leading streaming news network, helping to introduce NBC News to a new generation of viewers.”

Tom Llamas began his 25-year career at NBC News. He rejoined the network in 2021 as an NBC News senior national correspondent and soon after became anchor of NBC News NOW’s Top Story, a one-hour primetime streaming newscast. Llamas is also a regular fill-in anchor on NBC Nightly News and reports regularly on TODAY.

“Anchoring NBC Nightly News is a profound honor and one that carries tremendous responsibility. I look forward to working with the world class journalists at Nightly News and Top Story to bring viewers the most important stories every night,” says Llamas, adding, “Lester Holt is a great man and one of the most trusted broadcasters of our time. Just like Lester, I promise to be devoted to our viewers and dedicated to the truth.”

Tom Llamas will succeed Holt, who announced last week that he plans to step down in early summer, following a decade in the anchor chair at NBC Nightly News, to take on a dedicated full-time role at Dateline.

Llamas leads breaking news events and special political coverage for NBC News NOW and plays a key role on the network. His marathon coverage on big news nights, including the 2024 Election Night and the September 2024 Presidential Debate, led the streaming network to ratings milestones. He has reported from major events from around the U.S. and world, including on the New Orleans terror attack, the Israel-Hamas war, the invasion of Ukraine, the assassination attempt on President Trump in Pennsylvania, the deadly Baltimore bridge collapse, the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Tokyo and Paris Olympics and numerous natural disasters. He’s interviewed world leaders, including President Trump during the 2016 campaign, First Lady Melania Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Iran’s former Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.

Prior to his current role at NBC News, Tom Llamas was ABC’s chief national affairs correspondent. He anchored the weekend editions of ABC’s World News Tonight and was a regular fill-in anchor during the week. He began his broadcast journalism career as an intern at Telemundo 51 in Miami and at the age of 15. His first job at NBC was as an overnight production assistant, and then as a campaign embed in 2003. He also reported for NBC News’ local stations, including WTVJ in South Florida and WNBC in New York, where he served as an anchor and investigative reporter.

A native of Miami, Tom Llamas graduated from Loyola University in New Orleans with Bachelor of Arts degrees in broadcast journalism, as well as drama and speech. He completed a program at the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban American Studies, which focused on Raul Castro and Cuban American voters. Llamas resides in New York with his wife, two daughters and son. His parents came to the country as Cuban refugees.

NBC Nightly News provides the latest on the day’s top stories with a strong focus on original reporting and investigative journalism. It’s consistently a top five regularly-scheduled program in all of television and reaches millions of viewers through its daily television broadcast, as well as through NBC News NOW, NBCNews.com, its podcast and social media platforms. In February, Nightly News achieved year-over-year growth and reached a six-month high in the key A25-54 demo. It stands as one of the most successful programs in television history.

NBC News is the #1 news organization in the U.S., reaching 137 million Americans monthly across television, streaming and digital in 2024, according to Comscore Xmedia, driven by over 825 exclusive interviews, political and investigative scoops and first-to-reports.

NBC Nightly News airs Mondays-Fridays on NBC (6:30-7 p.m. ET first feed, 7 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C. Please check listings).

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