LEILA COBO

 

Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading authorities in Latin music and the Latin music industry, Leila Cobo is a novelist, speaker, journalist, TV host and Billboard’s Chief Content Officer for Latin/Español, overseeing the brand’s coverage of Latin music in all its platforms, as well as all its Spanish-language content. A pioneering music and media leader, Leila was the first U.S. based journalist to prominently cover Latin music daily and has been instrumental in transforming its coverage and perception in the U.S. Leila also programs the yearly Latin Music Week, the most prestigious and largest gathering for the Latin music industry. In 2022, she spearheaded the launch of Billboard Español, Billboard’s all-Spanish website which is now the most visited Spanish language media platform dedicated to music in the world. She also launched Billboard’s new Latin Women In Music franchise, which airs on Telemundo. 
 
Leila’s deep knowledge comes from her background as a classically trained pianist and as a graduate from the Annenberg School of Communications at USC, where she got her master’s degree as a Fulbright scholar. Leila’s most recent book, Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music (Penguin Random House), was featured in the New York Times’ summer reading list. She has published two award-winning novels with Grand Central Publishing/Hatchette –“The Second Time We Met” and “Tell Me Something True”-- and biographies on Jenni Rivera and Ednita Nazario with Penguin.  Leila also host “In-Tune With Leila Cobo,” her in-depth interview show seen on all U.S. airports via Reach TV. 

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Leila speaks frequently at colleges, companies and institutions about the Latin music industry and the history of Latin music. 
 
Leila has degrees in journalism from Bogotá’s Universidad Javeriana and in piano performance from Manhattan School of Music, as well as a master’s in communication management from The Annenberg School at USC. Among many accolades, she received the 2024 “Icono Máximo” award at Premios Icono; the 2020  “Wonder Women of Latin Music” award from the LAMC; the “Music Industry Trailblazer” award from the TJ Martell foundation in 2019; and was named an inaugural “Leading Latin Lady” by the Latin Grammys in 2017.  
 
Prior to Billboard, she worked at the Miami Herald and the Los Angeles Times. 
 

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Leila has published two novels with Grand Central Publishing/Hatchette which have been translated to German and Italian and have won multiple awards, leading Ms. Cobo to be named one of the Top Latino Writers to Watch in the United States.

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