This morning ABC News president Ben Sherwood sent the following note to ABC News staff.

As we discussed on the 9 a.m. call, Lea Ann Leming starts today as the Executive Producer of ABC News Digital.

Back in the mid-'90s Lea Ann helped create CNN.com, making her a true pioneer in digital journalism. On launch day, Lea Ann wrote the first story on the site, arriving at work at 4:00 a.m. as NATO began a series of airstrikes against Bosnia Serb targets. Since then she has built an impressive record as a creative digital media executive with extensive editorial, production, product and strategy experience.

Lea Ann is an expert in successfully launching new sites and digital businesses.

As head of HLN digital, she was the driving force behind the debut of HLN's first website, HLNtv.com, and she spearheaded new online food, lifestyle, gaming and travel brands for Turner Broadcasting.

Lea Ann will work closely with Joe Ruffolo and the whole team to expand our relationship with Yahoo! News and make the #1 ABC News-Yahoo! News Network even stronger.

A seasoned digital business executive with a true passion for news, Lea Ann joins ABC at a time of great momentum and growth. I'm confident she will help lead ABC News to even greater heights.

Please join me in welcoming Lea Ann.

-ABC-