BuzzFeed has appointed Danielle Belton as the new editor in chief of HuffPost, The Daily Beast reports. 

Belton is currently the editor in chief of The Root and has been with the publication for nearly six years, but she is preparing to take the top editor spot at HuffPost on April 12. This key hire comes after BuzzFeed acquired HuffPost in November and laid off 70 of its newsroom staff members last month.

Belton is taking over at HuffPost at such a pivotal time for the publication, which lost more than $20 million last year. BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said in a memo that the mass layoff and company restructuring was necessary to ensure success. With Belton at the helm of HuffPost, BuzzFeed News Editor and Chief Mark Schoofs will be removed from day to day tasks in HuffPost’s newsroom. Richard Kim will continue to serve as HuffPost’s executive editor and report to Belton directly.

“In a period where free quality news is more essential than ever, I’m confident Danielle will ensure that HuffPost remains a key player in providing cutting-edge reporting that reaches a huge and diverse audience,” BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said in a statement, according to Variety.

Belton first got her start in journalism at a local newspaper in Southern California called the Bakersfield Californian. She later went on to run her own award-winning blog from 2007 to 2015, The Black Snob, which focused on pop culture and politics. Belton has contributed to various publications throughout her career including theGrio, BET, Essence ABC and CNN.